Reclamation & Re-use

Preserving the original architectural vision with recovered slate & clay tiles

clay roofing tiles can be reclaimed if in good condition and used to reroof

The Durable Slate Company does not presently purchase reclaimed slate or clay roofing tiles.

Reclaimed slate and clay tile roofing is often the best choice when it comes to repairing an antique, historical, or specialty roof. Reclaimed materials nearly always match better than new natural or composite products, preserving the timeless aesthetic of your historical roof instead of creating a patchy, unsightly look. Salvaged materials can also be a great choice for a new roof or complete roof replacement.

The unique patina of an aged roof can be enjoyed instantly by using recycled slate or clay tiles.

The Durable Slate Company has one of the largest inventories of reclaimed slate and clay roofing tiles in the country. With this, we are able to match nearly any tile from any generation of roof for a seamless repair or roof replacement.

Slate and Tile Identification

We offer a free slate and tile identification service to help you find the right slate or tile. As a national installer of slate and clay tile roofs, The Durable Slate Company is familiar with all types of slate and clay tile quarried or manufactured in America. We gladly share our expertise to help you identify the slate or tile that you need and will happily ship you a sample upon request.

The Durable Slate Company can also suggest slate or clay tile materials for a new roof or re-roof project that will fit your taste and budget.

Reclaimed Slate

Slate is a roofing material with exceptional lifespan. Sadly, this means that the material product, the roofing tile, frequently outlasts the company that quarried it or the functional quarry itself. Because there is no new product available for roof repairs, reclaimed slate is often the only option for seamless repairs. Even for slates that are still quarried, salvaged slate tiles often match better than new. Many slates weather and change color as they age, making new slate incompatible in color and sheen with the old slate tile.

The Durable Slate Company can help you to find the slate that best matches the aging characteristics of your current roof.

Reclaimed slate can also be a good option for new roofs or re-roofs. Many people have turned to imitation slate in an attempt to get the aesthetic of a slate roof at a lower cost. Imitation slate products have been on the market for a few decades. In our experience, they are simply unreliable whether they are made from plastic, rubber or other materials. Too quickly, the color fades and the pieces become brittle and break.

If your roofing taste or preservation project demands classic texture and color of natural slate, consider installing a good-quality salvaged slate instead of composite materials. Natural slate tiles are more reliable than synthetic slate and less expensive than a new slate roof. A salvaged slate roof is an excellent value. It saves on material costs, and, properly installed, can last a lifetime (or longer).

The Durable Slate Company frequently stores the following types of slate:

  • Spanish slates
  • Peach Bottom Slate
  • Virginia Buckingham Slate
  • Pennsylvania Black Slate
  • Vermont slates, including Semi-weathering grey green, Unfading green, Purple, Red, Black, Mottled grey black

Reclaimed Clay Tile

For repairs or additions to historic buildings, salvaged tile is an excellent solution. It is often less expensive than new tile, and it will provide the best possible match in size, color and patina.

The size and shape of clay tiles has changed throughout their manufacturing history. Because it makes them cheaper and easier to install, clay tiles have gotten significantly larger. This means that new clay tiles, even if they are the same style from the same manufacturer, will not match historic tiles.

Additionally, some of the finishing methods used in the past are no longer available to tile manufacturers. Lead-based glazes and the fireflash and coke processes used in the past are now prohibited by environmental regulations. As a result, the colors and textures produced today are not quite the same as those manufactured in the 1920′s or 1930′s.

If you need to match a historic tile, manufacturers will usually produce short runs of a custom tile, but their most skilled craftsmen are required for the job, increasing both the price and the lead-time. Furthermore, matching historic colors and textures can be difficult, and is quite often impossible. Many manufacturers will charge an additional fee to experiment with glazes in an attempt to reproduce a historic color, but it’s not guaranteed to match.

We commonly carry the following types of historic clay tile:

  • Spanish “S” tile, regular and true S
    French tile
  • Straight and Tapered Barrel Mission tile
  • Interlocking tiles such as Classic, Americana, Jamestown, Lanai, and Closed Shingle
  • Slab tiles such as Colonial, Brittany, Provincial, Norman, and Antique
  • 5-sided Combo Shingle
  • Conosera Roof Tile
  • English Roof Tile
  • Beaver Tail Tile