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It should come as no surprise that when your new building project is to have the enduring beauty and resistance to nature that a slate roofing offers, the best time to prepare for that is in the design process so it can be implemented in the building process. Then a skilled slate roofer already has the proper framing and setup to install the slate roofing.

But how to get there and what to look for in a slate roofing contractor is the part we want to help you achieve. If you’re in the Melbourne, Australia area we serve, then it’s easier because at the risk of a shameless plug, simply call us. But if you’re not in Melbourne, then you’re still in the right place because this post will help you prepare on both the designing and building stages.

Whether you’re the architect/designer, builder, or even the owner, the same set of guidelines apply in finding a qualified slate roofer to collaborate with who will inevitably become the installer. The guidelines are fairly intuitive but still serve as a good checklist so these don’t get overlooked.

• Experience – Slate roofing is a special skill that requires years of practice under the apprenticeship of a master slater. Given that old world standards for slate roofing means roofs that last 150+ years, this kind of experience isn’t too much to ask. Everything else below is really just a subset of slating experience.
• Product knowledge – This ought to come with experience but is included for your consideration during the design and building stages. Look for a slate specialist who displays extensive knowledge of matching your project requirements to the best slate quality, color, texture, and style options and what you should expect with each.
• Construction specifications – Slate roofing requires its own installation style and framing as indicated above. Unless you know exactly how to design and frame for the type of slate roofing being installed, look for someone forward thinking enough to provide, or at least examine in advance, carpentry specifications as part of their service when needed.
• Reputation and reliability – Every construction project requires a team effort to keep everything on schedule and prevent the proverbial break in the chain. A wrong choice of contractor for ANY part of your project can not only disrupt scheduling, but poor craftsmanship can ruin someone else’s work. The other contractors already know this but if you’re the architect or owner looking for a slate roofer, you do well to verify their reputation.

We’ve kept it simple because it really doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, this can be summarized into something easier to remember. Slate roofing is more than a special skill that takes years to master, it requires someone willing to help you make the right choices and who recognizes the interdependency between the owner, architect or designer, builder, and every other contractor involved in the project. Remember that and you’ll have no regrets with your new slate roof.

If you want to know which slate is best for a new slate roofing project, a recommendation from someone who has been slating roofs since the 1970’s certainly counts as a qualified authority. Add to that the fact that a roof completed in 1983 still looks as good as the day it was first completed, and you have a solid recommendation.

That slate material is Del Carmen Ultra and it is the defacto standard when you want the best slate roofing material for your new slate roof. There are many reasons we can make this claim but we’ll just cover the primary ones and skip the boring stuff that only us master slaters care about.

First, Del Carmen Ultra includes a 100 year warranty. We could probably stop right there because that alone tells you all those recently completed new roofs around the Melbourne area with visible premature failure is a problem you’ll never have to worry about.

Slate is a product of nature. That one attribute means we would have a hard time passing consumer protection laws mandating nature comply with manufacturing standards. The only enforceable course of action is testing. Many slate tiles on the market get zero testing. Knowing that, it shouldn’t surprise you that slate roofing failure is so prevalent.

Del Carmen Ultra undergoes rigorous testing to assure qualities such as 0.3% water absorption and the ability to endure salt air unscathed. Without testing standards, slate tiles are also susceptible to delamination, cracking, and breaking, and more; other conditions you’ll never have to worry about. These slate tiles undergo the toughest testing standards in the world.

Del Carmen Ultra slate tiles sold together are extracted from the same slate veins so you get consistent color and texture. That definitely is not true with many other brands.

Simply put, Del Carmen Ultra slate tiles are equal to the best in the world. Will you find others that are as good? We’re pretty sure you could. But finding any better, not when they have to pass the toughest standards on the planet.