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Plastic slate


Alexphd1

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2 hours ago, Alexphd1 said:

Plastic slates..... yes or no? Any opinons/first hand experience welcome. 

Im working on a site that has been using them for seven years The earliest ones  look as good as the latest Really easy to fix lugs on the side for spacing

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  • 7 months later...
12 minutes ago, Alexphd1 said:

anybody used tapco plastic slate, more so the grey.

 

http://www.tapcoroofingproducts.com/product/tapcoslate-classic/

 

Used some Tapco slates when I ran out of IcoSlate when doing the roof on the water treatment plant shed.  They look very, very similar to the IkoSlates, same colour, same size,  almost identical, except that the Tapcos have a very slightly more matt finish, verses the slightly satin finish of the IkoSlates.  As far as the material goes there doesn't seem to be anything to choose between either of them, so I'd go for whichever you can get at the best price, as I doubt you'd notice any difference between the two, unless looking at them from a couple of feet away.

Edited by JSHarris
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Just a update with the tapco samples. I am very impressed with them. I was sent a plum (close to Welsh) and a pewter (steel grey).  I have attached a photo with them alongside a Welsh slate, Spanish slate & ikoslate.

20170803_183308.jpg

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I used the darker grey Tapco slates when I ran out of spare IkoSlates, and they are a very close match to the colour.  The main difference is that every Tapco slate is identical, whereas the Ikoslates have a different "riven" pattern on each slate (well, they have a few different "riven" patterns, but it looks like every slate is unique).

 

Whether this matters or not I'm not sure.  It's noticeable when you lay out a pack of IkoSlates that they look slightly different from each other, but against that the IkoSlates have a slight sheen to the surface, whereas the Tapcos are very matt looking.

 

One thing I have noticed is that the Tapcos attract more green algae.  The IkoSlates are self-cleaning in heavy rain, but the Tapcos do start to look a bit green and patchy.  That may be because I have the Tapcos and IkoSlates on the same small shed roof, that is very shaded, on the North side of the house, though.

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Trying to decide between Tapco and IKO myself. Tending towards IKO based on their larger presence and easier availability. The IKO rep did point out that whilst Tapco might work out a touch cheaper per slate they would be able to help with other aspects of the roof as a package if necessary.

I've seen a job with the Tapco and it looks superb.

 

One point of note tho- the documentation for the Tapco makes reference to slight curling when hot/wet, but no such remark for the IKO. Have you observed this @JSHarris?

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I can say that I've not seen any difference at all between the two with regard to any change in shape - I have both side by side on a small shed roof and you really wouldn't know they were different products unless you looked very closely.

 

Iko have a system that includes a dry ridge and ridge ventilator strip, that's pretty unobtrusive, not sure about Tapco.

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  • 2 months later...

I was all set to use IKOslate, as looked great on Jeremy's house, until I found out that IKO do not give any warranty with their product.

I spoke to the technical department who confirmed this.

They said the test report states that they should last in excess of 20 years (which in itself is a bit worrying) but do not offer any guarantee to that effect.

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5 hours ago, Moira Niedzwiecka said:

I was all set to use IKOslate, as looked great on Jeremy's house, until I found out that IKO do not give any warranty with their product.

I spoke to the technical department who confirmed this.

They said the test report states that they should last in excess of 20 years (which in itself is a bit worrying) but do not offer any guarantee to that effect.

 

 

Not that many roofing material suppliers seem to offer a long term warranty.  We've found that the Iko slates haven't faded or degraded at all in about 4 years, and I'd suggest they are easily OK for 20 years plus.

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Hello Jeremy,

Good to hear your Iko slates are looking good.

I imagine they will still look as good in 20+ years.

It just made me uneasy to think that if I was unlucky enough to have a bad batch it would be a real hassle to sort out.

Tapco offer a 40 year guarantee but they look a bit more rustic.

I have decided to go with a natural slate.

Our house is a chalet style house with a large south facing roof & although some of it is taken up with an in roof PV array there is still a lot of exposed slate.

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