We have certainteed "grand manor" shingles on our build. It's a shingle that is meant to resemble slate and we are extremely happy with both the astetics as well as the weight/durability of the shingle. One way to see a grand manor roof is to find a certainteed distributor in your area and ask them to show you projects that have used grand manors. We are going back up to our build 8/10. If you like, i could ask some friends that live in the area to take digitals of our build,(stucco), and send them to your e-mail.

Here is a link that might be useful: grand manor

Here's a past thread on the subject:

Here is a link that might be useful: past thread

Tamko (www.tamko.com) makes a composite slate shingle. It's still expensive, but less than the real stuff. And the installation isn't as specialized as with real slate or clay tiles.

And the Grand Manor that Sierraeast mentioned are a great way to go too. They don't look exactly like slate (like the composites do), but close. They're still about $300 per sq, too much for our house.

There are a lot of metal roofs in Tuscany. Have you considered that? It's certainly more energy efficient due to the fast heat-offloading at night, too.

Plus, in Texas, you get up to a 25% reduction in your yearly homeowner's policy if you have one -- that's a lifetime discount annuity right there! Ours is 24%.

I'm a little surprised that a price tag of $40K has caught you off guard. Where were you thinking you'd like to be in terms of cost per square? In my area for materials/installation, these are some prices that you could expect: Grand Manor $250-$350/square, Real Slate $800+/square, Tile $700+/square, Lamarite or Duraslate $550+/square, Copper $1000+/square, Metal Roofing $450+/square (possibly less depending on material quality), Regular asphalt shingles $150/square.

You mention 9700 sq ft under roof, but that doesn't really equate to how much roof you have...1 story vs. 2 story, pitches are equally important. Our house is about 5000 under roof with 53 squares used. Just for a quick comparison, that would mean that for my house a real slate roof would have been over $40K and my house is half the size of yours.

If you were expecting a lower price, then I think your builder/architect/designer misled you somewhere along the way.

Sierraeast, I would truly appreciate seeing some of your pictures. Thanks.

I am also going to call the local supplier to see some of their homes.

Hi Omeyers, I've e-mailed some folks who live near our build and asked them to take some pics. I'll forward them to you when we get them. Mark

Dallsbill, thanks for the information on metal roofs. How is your roof with respect to sound? Is it noisy during heavy rain storms or when other items hit the roof? Did you use any type of sound barrier or deadening materials with your metal roof?

Regards, O

During heavy rain storms the vaulted ceiling area is pleasantly noisy, but it's insulated with spray foam underneath so it's not overwhelming. You don't have to turn up the TV, for example. We have an attic in other parts of the house so it's even less there.

We are still waiting for other items to hit the roof, so I can't comment there... ;-)

dixie, a nice synopsis of options and costs! I recall you describing your metal roof. We are considering that option. Do you have photos??

Dixiedoodle's opinion and prices are accurate. To each his/her own, but my million dollar home would have a tile roof of some sort. However my (30% of that price) stone/stucco house in NW Houston will have a traditional asphalt shingle roof because $25,000 extra for metal tile is out of my range. If the stock market goes up 5000 points in the next month, I'm going with these guys.
www.decra.com

If you feel you can't justify the tile roof right now, be sure the architect/truss co. engineers the roof for it and be sure it's noted on the prints. That way if you switch to tile/slate/etc. later it won't be an issue with your local bldg. dept.