Fibre Cement Slate is a very popular alternative to natural slate in Ireland. Used extensively in recent years. There are many manufacturers, some based in Ireland, others from all over Europe offering a reasonably homogenous product in terms of sizes, appearance and shades. However, these products can also suffer from a range of issues such as:
Curling/lifting. This is often the terminology used when a fibre cement slate has separated from its tail fixings. There can be a number of reasons for this issue.
Loss of colour/coating. This is another common problem with this product over the last number of years. Many manufacturers offer various guarantees with differing slates as a way of addressing this problem.
Cracking/breaking. This is a total failure of a slate and can be associated to a number of factors not necessarily defective slates.
Poor Workmanship. A constant scourge in the slating industry – inexperienced roofers/builders incorrectly appling slates to the roof. Can be found in general areas (bad perpend joints, wandering lines) and more commonly on basic roof details (insufficient eaves course).