Tru-Slate by GAF ????

So what is this stuff? It sure looks pretty on the back cover of Professional Roofing.

never installed it so i wouldnt know..mike been back down to st. joe recently?

Slate remnants too small for anything else. Use a strap of hooks to hang them on, lay them down, then lay plastic across the tops to simulate what would be the upper half of a slate,( or shingle).

Did you see that 1/2 shingle at a trade show about 20 years back? Used fabric for it's upper half. They claim it will last 50-100 years, but I can't find any old building with them to see how well they did for their first 100 years or so. Till then, the jury's still out.

Mike H Said: So what is this stuff? It sure looks pretty on the back cover of Professional Roofing.

And the burger on the drive-thru menu never looks like the shriveled thing you get when you open the paper bag.

Mike, it is slate, but it is basicly a single coverage system that relies on an underlayment to keep out the rain. No real headlap. The slate is installed over stainless steel clips and is from the top down. We are pretty sure it will last at least 3-4 years because that is how long it has been out. Be careful!

The underlayment is a heavy plastic film, so it will probably last at least 10 years. There is one installation of it (pre-GAF ownership) in my town and the thing I notice is the cut pieces in the valley are constantly coming loose. Maybe the system that's worked for cenuties is better than the newfangled 2.0.

The GAF rep has been here trying to convince me that this is a wonderful product that is better than full-sized slate because of the fastening system.

He was unable to convince me that wind-driven rain will not get up under the underlayment. I watch rain blow from the gutter to the peak on the building across the street from my house. There is only 2" of lap on these things, it would not take a lot to blow back under them and that is only the rain. Looking at the ice damming that we are seeing here right now, these so-called slate would be popping off like tiddly-winks!

I don't like them but then again, I am only one hard-headed, opinionated person!

The GAF rep was here a while back touting this product, and when I read this post all I could think was I did'nt like it but could'nt remember why. But OS has jogged my memory and I agree, also you have to cut the underlayment in strips if I remember right, major PIA. As usual the concern with lack of headlap is directed to water intrusion little thought is given to wind uplift. One of the selling points was that it will be cheaper than a conventional slate roof due to the quantity of slates used being less because of the smaller headlap. I think when all is said and done it could well be more due to the extra labour ( installing the strips of I+W, the hooks, the rails etc) and the extra material.

Whoa!!! sounds like a real doozy of a product.

I was just curious. It's not my market. I wondered if they took thin slate strips and bonded it to a shingle. What y'all are describing sounds a whole lot worse.

JWilliams, Not since November. Will be down in a week or two, perhaps right after the NRCA show in NO. I've got a question for you, so if you wouldn't mind e-mailing me at MikeAtHRI@aol.com , I'd appreciate it.

I do find it interesting that everyone wants something that looks like slate when installed. I have said it before and I will say it again. Nothing look quite as much like slate as real slate.

That's why I was curious enough to ask. The pic sure looked real, and I couldn't figure out how you could get a real slate look at a low price. McMansion mania, folks will try anything seams to have the surf-n-turf style at a po'boy price.

What headlap???

That stuff is not even a single coverage system without the plastic between courses.

Ridiculous!

The accessories will cost more than the slate.

Kind of like the Eco Stars and such. some of them cost more than real slate, course they can be applied with a nail gun. go figure.

I was right there with Dennis...What "headlap?" but then I realized Dennis is the kind of guy who likes a slate the size of a table top and weighing in at three hundred pounds, one that you have to split yourself out of native rock laying out in the woods nearby, so there's not likely to be any way to please him with a product like this.

The headlap is 1 inch if I remember right.

Just about butting them together.