Natural and synthetic slate
Slate Roofing
in Rockwall, Texas
Slate is the heaviest and longest-lasting roof you can put on a house, and the least forgiving of a careless repair. We inspect, repair, and install natural and synthetic slate, and we tell you which one your house can actually carry.
Everything is better with Bacon.
Book Your Free Slate Inspection
No charge, no obligation, and nobody stomping on your slate.
Describe the roof in a line or two; our office calls back that same business day.
4.9 Stars, 160+ Reviews
Certified GAF Installer
Clear, Written Estimates
Free Inspections
Family-Owned Since 1995
Slate roofing
A Stone Roof Lasts For Generations If Nobody Breaks It
Natural slate is split from quarried stone, and a good slate roof routinely outlives the house’s first several owners. What usually ends it early is not weather. It is people: a satellite installer walking across it, a handyman smearing tar on a cracked piece, or a roofer who nails a replacement slate straight through the face.
We have worked on roofs around Rockwall since 1995, and slate is the material where experience shows most. It is brittle underfoot, it is heavy, and the fasteners and flashing usually give out long before the stone does. So the job is mostly about protecting what is already up there and fixing the parts that wear.
There is also synthetic slate, a molded composite that copies the look at a fraction of the weight. It is a genuinely good product on the right house. We will walk you through both honestly, and if your existing slate has decades left, we will say so and fix only what is broken.
What we check first
Slate Rarely Fails. The Parts Holding It Do.
A slate roof is stone held up by metal. The stone can last a remarkably long time; the nails, the flashing, and the valley metal underneath often cannot. When we inspect one, we spend most of our time on the parts nobody sees from the street, because that is where the trouble usually starts.
- Nail sickness. Slates hang on nails, and when those nails corrode, the slate slides out of its course. A slipped slate in the gutter usually means its neighbors are on the same clock.
- Cracked and broken pieces. Large hail and foot traffic crack slate. One broken piece lets water reach the felt below, and old felt does not hold out long once it is exposed.
- Worn flashing and valleys. Chimney, wall, and valley metal wears out long before good slate does. Re-flashing is often the single repair that keeps an old slate roof going.
- Old tar patches. Roof cement smeared over a crack traps water, hides the real problem, and makes the next proper repair harder. We see it a lot, and it always has to come off.
- Delamination and flaking. Some softer slate eventually starts shedding thin layers. When that is happening across the whole roof rather than in a few spots, the stone itself is reaching the end.
How a slate job runs
Slate Work, Done At Slate Pace
Slate does not reward hurrying. Here is how a Bacon Roofing slate job goes, whether it is a handful of replacement pieces or a full new roof.
1
Free Inspection
We inspect from roof ladders, hooks, and the attic where we can, photograph every problem, and avoid walking the slate itself.
2
Written Estimate
An itemized estimate that says repair or replace, natural or synthetic, and why. The price holds unless hidden damage turns up.
3
Matching The Slate
For repairs, we source slate that matches in color, size, and thickness, so the patched area does not stand out.
4
Repair Or Install
Broken pieces are cut out and replaced on slate hooks or metal tabs, never face-nailed. New roofs go on over decking we have checked and repaired.
5
Cleanup & Walkthrough
Every broken scrap and stray nail gets picked up, and we go through the photos with you so you can see what was fixed.
Natural or synthetic?
Real Slate Or Synthetic? It Starts With Weight
Natural slate is far heavier than asphalt shingles, and many houses were never framed to carry it. That single fact settles a lot of these conversations before style even comes up.
Natural slate is the call when…
- The house already has slate and the framing was built for it.
- Your existing slate is still sound and only the nails or flashing are failing.
- You expect to own this house for decades and want the roof that outlasts the rest.
- A structural check confirms the framing can carry the load for a new install.
Sound old slate is almost always worth saving.
Synthetic slate makes more sense when…
- The framing was built for shingles and reinforcing it is not worth the cost.
- You want the slate look on a newer home or an addition.
- Hail is a real worry and you want a product with a published impact rating.
- Matching the original stone for a large section has become impractical.
Lighter weight, similar look, a simpler install.
Not sure what is on your roof, or what it can hold? The inspection answers both. If your slate only needs new flashing and a few pieces, that is what we will quote, and nothing more.
Found slate in the yard?
A missing slate leaves old felt exposed to the next rain. Call us and we will cover the opening, then come back with matched stone to fix it properly.
Repairing slate properly
How We Repair Slate Without Breaking More
A slate repair goes wrong when somebody treats it like a shingle roof. Boots crack the pieces around the one being fixed, face nails let water in, and tar ages into a brittle mess. Here is how we approach it instead, and what we will not do to your roof.
- Stay off the field. We work from roof ladders and hooks hung over the ridge so our weight is spread out, rather than walking straight across stone that cracks under a heel.
- Matched replacement slate. Color, thickness, and size all have to line up, or the repair looks like a patch and sheds water differently from the pieces around it.
- Hooks or tabs, not face nails. A replacement slate is secured so no fastener is left exposed to the weather, because an exposed nail is tomorrow's leak.
- Metal that keeps up with the stone. When flashing or valleys need replacing, we use metal suited to a roof with decades ahead of it, not something that will rust out first.
What A Proper Slate Repair Includes
Craft, not shortcuts.
Matched slateSlate hooksRoof laddersLong-life flashingNo roof cementBefore-and-after photos
Options
Three Ways To Get The Look
Weight, budget, and how many years you expect to own the house decide which of these is right. We will lay out the trade-offs plainly for your roof and your framing.
Natural Slate
Quarried stone with color that runs all the way through. The longest-lived option of the three, and the heaviest, so the framing has to be checked before anything else.
Synthetic Slate
Molded composite shaped and textured like split stone. Far lighter, easier to service, and usually workable on framing built for ordinary shingles.
Roof Tile
Another heavy, long-lived option with its own profiles and colors. Worth comparing if you like the durability of stone but prefer a different look.
What You Get From Us
A Straight Assessment
If your slate has life left, we fix the failing parts and leave the rest alone.
A Written Scope
Every piece, every flashing, and every material choice listed, so you know what you are paying for.
A Price That Holds
Your estimate stands as written, unless hidden damage shows up once work is underway.
Roofers who stay local
Thirty Years Around Rockwall
Slate jobs are rare enough that many crews only see a handful, and it shows in the repairs we get called to fix. We have been working on North Texas roofs since 1995, from our office in Rowlett, and we are still here when a slate roof needs attention again years later.
Our area runs roughly an hour out from Rockwall: Rowlett, Heath, Wylie, Royse City, Sunnyvale, Garland, Mesquite, Forney, and the towns between. Spot the truck with the pig on it near you? Call and ask whether we can take a look. Most of the time, we can.
Everything is better with Bacon.
Reviews
What Homeowners Tell Us
Common questions
Slate Roofing FAQs
Can my house actually carry the weight of a natural slate roof if it was built for shingles?
Sometimes, but it is never something to guess at. Natural slate is far heavier than shingles, so the rafters and decking have to be checked, and often reinforced, before it goes on. When that work does not make sense, synthetic slate gives you the look without the load.
Is it better to repair my old slate roof or replace it?
If the stone itself is sound, repair almost always wins. Most aging slate roofs fail at the nails, flashing, and valleys, and those can be replaced while the slate stays. Replacement starts to make sense when slate is flaking or crumbling across the whole roof, or when broken pieces multiply faster than they can be fixed. We tell you which situation you are in after we have looked.
How does slate handle North Texas hail?
Better than many materials, but it is still stone, and large hail can crack it. A cracked slate rarely leaks right away; the trouble comes later as water reaches the felt. After a big storm, have it checked instead of waiting.
Will you meet my adjuster about broken slate?
Yes, as your contractor of record. We document cracked and missing pieces with dated photos, walk the roof with the adjuster, and explain what a correct slate repair takes, including matched stone rather than a shingle patch. We help you navigate the process and talk scope of work, not policy. We are roofers, not adjusters or attorneys.
Can you walk on a slate roof?
Not casually. Slate cracks under concentrated weight, so we use roof ladders and hooks to spread the load. If a satellite or solar installer needs access, ask them to call us first.
What is synthetic slate made of?
Usually molded polymer or rubber composites, shaped and textured to look like split stone. Quality varies a lot by product, so we compare the options with you rather than pushing one.
How should I look after slate?
Keep gutters and valleys clear, keep people off the roof, and have it looked at every year or so and after big storms. Replacing a slipped piece early is cheap; ignoring it is not.
Do you work outside Rockwall?
Yes. Homes roughly an hour around Rockwall: Heath, Rowlett, Sachse, Wylie, Garland, Mesquite, Forney, Royse City, and the towns in between.
Contact Bacon Roofing
Have Your Slate Looked At Properly
Send us a note about what you are seeing, whether that is a slipped piece in the flower bed, a stain near the chimney, or a roof you simply want checked before it becomes a problem. We will book a free inspection and put our findings in writing. If water is already inside, phone rather than using the form.
Phone
Office
8126 Lakeview Pkwy, Suite 13
Rowlett, TX 75088
Warranties
Warranty terms for your roof system, written into the estimate.
Request Your Free Inspection
Send this over and we will return your call the same business day.