Kingston, New York

Site visits within two weeks

(845) 555-0127
Fairhaven Slate & Copper

Materials

Five roofs, honestly compared

Slate, copper, cedar and steel each earn their place on old houses. Asphalt earns its place too, on the right building. Pick any two and see how they stack up.

No. 1Compare

Pick two materials

Costs are typical installed prices per square (100 square feet) in the Hudson Valley in 2026. Pitch, height and access move them up or down.

Natural slate close-up

Natural slate

Vermont and Pennsylvania stone

Expected life
75 to 150 years
Weight per square
800 to 1,500 lb
Installed, per square
$1,600 to $3,200
Per square, per year of life
$21 a year
How it ages
Holds its color for a century. Some Vermont colors weather from gray-green to a soft buff.
Upkeep
Replace the odd cracked slate. Check flashing every few years.
Best for
Historic houses, steep roofs, owners who plan to stay
Architectural asphalt close-up

Architectural asphalt

Laminated fiberglass shingle

Expected life
20 to 30 years
Weight per square
250 to 400 lb
Installed, per square
$500 to $800
Per square, per year of life
$26 a year
How it ages
Granules wear off and colors fade. Edges curl as it ages.
Upkeep
Plan on a full replacement every 20 to 30 years.
Best for
Additions, garages, tight budgets

Over 100 years, you would roof the house once with natural slate and four times with architectural asphalt. Per year of life, natural slate costs less: $21 a square per year.

Aging, upkeep and best uses for each material are in the details below.

How we figure it: cost per year of life is the middle of the cost range divided by the middle of the lifespan range. Roofs needed over 100 years is 100 divided by the middle lifespan, rounded. Prices exclude tear-off, new decking, scaffolding and permits, and lifespans assume good installation and basic care.

No. 2In detail

Each material in detail

Fieldstone farmhouse with a dark slate roof and a greenhouse beside it
Hurley1760s fieldstone house, Pennsylvania black slate.

Natural slate

Slate is split stone, and a good slate roof outlives the nails that hold it. That is why every slate job we do gets copper nails and copper flashing. We stock Vermont gray, green and purple and Pennsylvania black, new and salvaged.

  • Restoration: we replace cracked slates one at a time with a slate ripper and copper bib. No tar, no caulk.
  • Matching: salvaged slate from our yard blends with roofs from the 1880s on.
  • Structure: slate weighs 800 to 1,500 pounds per square, so we check the rafters before we quote a new slate roof.
Life
75 to 150 years
Weight
800 to 1,500 lb
Per square
$1,600 to $3,200
Row of dormers capped in green-patinated copper on a tiled roof
DetailCopper dormer caps after decades of weather.

Copper

Old roofers trusted copper with the hardest spots on a house: valleys, chimneys, bay roofs and cupolas. We form it in our Kingston shop and solder the seams on site.

  • Roofs: standing seam and flat-lock for bays, porches and cupolas.
  • Flashing: valleys, step flashing and chimney crickets in 16 ounce copper.
  • Water: half-round gutters, conductor heads and finials, made to match the originals.

How copper ages

Life
70 to 100 years
Weight
100 to 150 lb
Per square
$2,000 to $3,500
Weathered cedar shake roof with three dormers and green window frames
RhinebeckCarriage house dormers in sawn red cedar.

Cedar shake

Cedar suits shingle-style cottages and carriage houses. It needs air under it, so we install it over spaced sheathing or a vented mat. New cedar is honey colored and turns silver-gray within a few summers.

  • Texture: hand-split shakes for a rough edge, sawn shingles for crisp lines.
  • Fasteners: stainless steel or copper only.
  • Code: fire-treated cedar where the town requires it.
Life
30 to 40 years
Weight
300 to 400 lb
Per square
$900 to $1,400
White two-story house with a wraparound porch and gray metal porch roofs
HudsonPorch roofs in painted standing seam steel.

Standing seam steel

On farmhouses, barns and long porch roofs, steel gives a clean line and sheds snow fast. We use terne-coated steel on restorations and painted steel everywhere else.

  • Panels: concealed fasteners, rolled on site to full length.
  • Snow: snow guards over doors and walkways.
  • Paint: terne needs repainting every 10 to 15 years. Factory-painted steel does not.
Life
40 to 70 years
Weight
100 to 150 lb
Per square
$1,000 to $1,600

Asphalt is here for comparison. It is the roof most houses in the valley have today.

Architectural asphalt

We install it, and we tell you when it is the right call: on additions, garages and outbuildings, or when the budget says so this decade. We do not put it on a slate roof that can be saved.

Life
20 to 30 years
Weight
250 to 400 lb
Per square
$500 to $800

Not sure which fits?

Let the house decide

The era, the pitch and the framing usually point to one answer. A site visit tells you which, in writing.

Request a site visit Call (845) 555-0127
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