Case Study
This post in no way disparages the choices made by the homeowner or the roofing contactor’s decision to replace the slate with a synthetic substitute. It aims to educate and help understand the decisions made by both homeowner and contractor from their perspective, and why the slate industry continues to face increased competition from unproven synthetic materials. Click the Instagram post to watch video
Evaluating the Problem
When I saw this post on my Instagram feed from an account with 500k followers, it struck me as a fit to bring together the slate community with a real world example. The owner of the account is a blogger for the popular media outlet Barstool. An initial post was asking for help in the renovation of his home and how estimates were coming in over budget expressing how difficult it was to find help. I’m surmising, but Gunner Roofing saw the post, said that they’d do the repair at a preferred cost with the understanding of promotion through the social channel, and the project got started.
In this initial video, it’s clear the homeowner has been told that a slate roof is a historical roof that should last a lifetime. However, his leaking roof had issues and he needed a solution. This could be because the slate was installed incorrectly a hundred years ago, or that upkeep was not maintained throughout its lifetime, or that the slate is reaching the end of its lifespan.
Homeowner Mindset
“This right here, this is gonna last me”
It’s important to recognize that the homeowner is not a member of a Slate Association. They aren’t educated on the benefits of slate or the pitfalls of a synthetic material. They care about the comfort of their family at a cost that fits their budget. This fact supersedes any mindset that members of the NSA may have. Another consideration is that they also many not know where to look to find a qualified representative to inspect the slate roof. He may google “roofing contractor” near me and get one who has little experience with slate. How can one expect a homeowner to know where to look to get the expert opinion a slate roof may need?
The Roofing Contractor
What incentive does the roofing contractor have for repairing this slate roof? They look at the project and see a leaking roof, a material that may be at the end of its life span, and an opportunity to re-roof a historic home with a product that offers a payday. We know the cost of the material is not the main issue, it’s the time of installation, if they even know how to install slate properly. That’s a cut up home with a turret, dormers, proper flashing, and valleys. Not a simple replacement. They’ve already convinced the homeowner with an estimate for synthetic that this roof is not only cheaper, but will provide the exact solution to your problem, why not move forward? Who tells the homeowner that the material has a warranty for 50 years and the manufacturer hasn’t even been around that long? Who says that the tiles can weather an leave an unwanted color to your roof? Or that the tiles can curl and create long term replacement issues and create an aesthetic nightmare? The contractor is not worried about the long term functionality of the synthetic product. They care about completing the job with a material they make money with.
So What?
The video receives 6,600 likes in 6 days. These are people scrolling on their phones and watching a video being influenced by a negative connotation of slate as a roofing material. With all the issues our community faces, it hurts even more when you watch a slate roof being replaced by synthetic and being advertised that it’s a great decision. If I had to nail down a key component, it’s cost. A homeowner doesn’t understand slate. This guy was even explained what he had and he still felt good about synthetic. It’s up to the roofing contactor to sway this decision, but what if they aren’t slate experts? Another slate roof lost in America. Perhaps it’s the stark reality that America can’t afford slate anymore and it’s only for the affluent, universities, government buildings, and churches. Would it have made a difference if a light weight slate system could have been suggested to reduce the cost and still keep slate on that roof? To me, it’s painful to watch this happen and be publicized. If this were reversed and the video was made promoting how good of a decision was made to keep slate, that’s what we need to keep slate strong. How can we find the outlets for proper promotion?
