We visited Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky recently and had a great time. It’s a beautiful park with many outdoor activities besides having the world’s largest cave system to explore.
We visited the park in June of 2011 and they had just completed putting the finishing touches on the new main visitor’s central building. They also have a couple of shelters where you meet the park rangers to go on your cave tour. Construction workers were putting the roof tiles on one of the shelters when we were there.
When I first glanced at the completed roof tiles on an adjacent shelter, it appeared to be some really nice looking slate. I thought that was a great choice for looks and durability for the types of buildings that they were putting them on. After a second look, I saw that I was actually looking at synthetic slate roofing shingles. Brilliant!
Synthetic Slate Roof Tiles Help Earn LEED Certification
The type of synthetic slate tile that they were installing is called Majestic Slate. It is manufactured using 80% post-industrial recycled rubber and plastic, such as discarded car bumpers and baby diaper production remnants.
That keeps a fair amount of those types of materials out of our landfills. Keeping that in mind, EcoStar’s synthetic slate roof tiles can contribute towards LEED credits.
The technical term for their product is the polymer slate tile roof system, for anybody keeping track and it is comprised of recycled EPDM rubber and TPO plastic polymers.
Majestic Tile is made in two different formulations that are Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed as Class C fire rating and Class C fire rated roofing material (UL 790) is available. It has also been tested and listed by UL as Class 4 for impact resistance (UL 2218).
I’m not going to get into how to install it or anything like that. They have a specific set of installation instructions for the installer in order to keep the warranty valid. They are as easy to install as regular roof shingles. Simply score with your knife and snap.
It has an optional 110-mph wind approval system. Speaking of warranty’s and such, it also has a 50-year limited labor and material warranty that is fully transferable.
Another great benefit is that they weigh half as much as authentic slate tiles. That should keep the roofers happy.
I do not have access to sales so I am unable to supply to you how much it costs. I will tell you that the warranty requires you to use stainless steel roofing nails (fasteners). That is an added expense over regular roofing nails but they will last longer and not stain your roof tiles.
There is a sales sheet that gives comparisons of competitors products vs. EcoStar roofing tiles is fairly helpful if you want to weigh the pros and cons of some basic information.
The Majestic Slate product line won the 2009 PCBC Cool Products Competition for its 10-inch roofing tiles.
I think the National Park Service did a great thing by making an effort to have the visitor center at Mammoth Cave a LEED-accredited facility.
This is a material that can easily be used on your home, as well.
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Randy Boerstler
Writing a home building blog that chronicles new homes during different phases of construction from a consumers' point-of-view is rather unique and loads of fun. Basically, my tips are a collection of checklists for what I think should (and should not) go into building a quality home. So let's have fun seeing what's new in the housing market these days!
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