Where Fort Worth's slate roofs are
Fort Worth began in 1853 on the grounds of an abandoned U.S. Army post where the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River meet. Census estimates show it growing from about 918,900 residents in 2020 to about 1.03 million in 2025, and it has every kind of roof there is: 1910s and 1920s homes on the west side, postwar ranches, gated golf communities, new subdivisions on the north and west edges, and miles of warehouses and shops.
Much of the city's natural slate sits on the west side, on period houses from the early 1900s through the 1930s. River Crest grew up around River Crest Country Club, which opened in 1911, and oil, cattle and banking families built Tudor Revival, Mediterranean and Prairie-style homes there through the 1920s and 1930s. Monticello, planned in 1928 by the Kansas City landscape firm Hare & Hare, required homes of brick, stone or stucco, and its Tudor and period-revival houses carry some of the steepest roofs in town. Newer custom homes across the city add synthetic slate when the owner wants the look without the weight.
On roofs like these, most slate work is careful repair and flashing renewal, not a tear-off. Good slate can outlast several sets of flashing, nails and underlayment, and the most common mistake we see is a sound slate roof replaced because nobody fixed the flashing.
Repairs that don't show
- Matched slates: we match color, thickness, size and weathering, and hang replacements with copper or stainless slate hooks or nail-and-bib methods. See slate roof repair.
- Valleys and chimneys: worn valley metal and chimney flashings rebuilt, usually in copper, with step and counter-flashing cut into the masonry.
- Old tar and caulk repairs removed and replaced with real flashing.
- Hard-to-find slate: when an original slate is no longer quarried, we look for salvaged stock or borrow from a hidden slope. See slate quarries and brands.
- Copper gutters, bays and accents that belong with a slate roof, with copper kept away from steel and aluminum.
Natural slate or synthetic slate?
| Natural slate | Synthetic slate | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Quarried stone | Polymer or composite slate such as DaVinci or Enviroslate |
| Weight | Heavy; framing must be checked first | Much lighter; most homes need no structural changes |
| Lifespan | Good slate can outlast several sets of flashing | Depends on the product and its warranty |
| Repairs | Individual slates can be replaced for decades | Pieces can be replaced, but colors and lines change over time |
| Historic districts | Usually the expected material on an original slate roof | Needs review; ask before you choose |
More: synthetic vs. real slate and synthetic slate. If a slate roof is truly at the end of its life and you want something different, a slate-look designer shingle or metal shingle is another option; the photos on this page show one of our slate-look jobs near Bridgeport.
How we inspect a roof you can't walk like a shingle roof
Slate and tile break under the wrong footstep, so a careless inspection can cause the damage it's looking for. We plan a walk path, step only where the pieces are supported, use roof ladders and pads where needed, and fly a drone over the areas that aren't safe to walk. Every inspection comes with a free digital photo report, so you see what we see. The report separates old breaks, fresh breaks and installation problems, because they lead to very different answers.
Fort Worth permits and historic review
The City of Fort Worth's residential permitting page says replacing decking, lathing boards, sheathing boards, rafters or ridge boards requires a building permit, filed online by a registered contractor. A slate replacement nearly always involves deck and lath work, and natural slate's weight can mean a framing check, so we treat a full slate job as a permitted job and confirm the scope with the city. The city's roofing FAQ requires drip edge and crickets on re-roofs and doesn't allow new decking over an old layer.
If the house is a designated historic property or sits in a local historic district, the city's historic preservation program requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before permits for roofing changes. District guidelines can be strict about slate: Fairmount's, for example, say original tile and slate roofs must be maintained. That usually points to repair and in-kind replacement, and we put together the photos and material samples the review asks for.
Hail and slate in Fort Worth
NOAA's Storm Events Database lists 45 reports of hail 1.75 inches (golf-ball size) or larger within about 10 miles of the center of Fort Worth from 2016 through the September 2026 update. The largest were 3-inch hail near Mara on March 16, 2023, about three and a half miles from the center, and 3-inch hail near the Carswell air base on October 10, 2019. The most recent big day was April 25, 2026, with 2.75-inch hail near Hodge in north Fort Worth, 2.5-inch hail near Westland and 2.25-inch hail near Benbrook. Countywide, NOAA lists 115 reports of golf-ball-size or larger hail in Tarrant County over the same period, the largest 5-inch hail near Mansfield on June 12, 2023. Hail counts change across a city this big. Using the same 10-mile radius, NOAA's list has 36 reports around River Crest, 38 around Tanglewood and 33 around Mira Vista. Thick slate holds up well, but hail that size can crack it, and so can age and careless foot traffic. Our photo report separates fresh breaks from old ones. If you file an insurance claim, we document the damage and meet your adjuster on the roof. Texas law requires you to pay your deductible, and a contractor may not waive, absorb or rebate it. We never will. In Texas you generally have 1 year from the date of loss to file; check your policy.
Who repairs slate roofs in Fort Worth?
Snow Roofing & Exteriors does. Here are the facts you can check before you call anyone:
- 75 years as a family roofing business, and 30 years in the business for owner Blake Snow, who is still on the roofs.
- Over $80 million in completed roofing projects, from small repairs to multi-million-dollar jobs.
- 5.0 stars on Google at all three offices: Bridgeport, Decatur and Rhome.
- Our own roll formers for standing seam and R-panel, in 24 or 26 gauge, with metal lead times that are typically 1 to 2 weeks.
- Our own crew, about 32 road miles (roughly 41 minutes) from Fort Worth at our Rhome office.
- Snow Roofing & Exteriors is BBB A+ rated.
Photos
We don't have photos of a natural slate job on file to show here. The photos below are real Snow Roofing & Exteriors jobs: a slate-look designer shingle re-roof near Bridgeport in Wise County, and a Clay County metal transition. They are not in Fort Worth, and we never show a street or address.
We're certified with GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, Atlas, Johns Manville, Carlisle, Tropical Roofing Products, Mule-Hide and Enviroshake, and many other roof manufacturers. We give a workmanship warranty from 10 years up to lifetime, depending on the job, in writing. More: tile roofing in Fort Worth, standing seam in Fort Worth, slate roofing in Westover Hills and our Fort Worth roofing page.
Product names, ratings and features are as published by the manufacturer and can change. We confirm the current rating and warranty of the exact product before we order it.
Residential warranty: a workmanship warranty from 10 years up to lifetime, depending on the job, with manufacturer warranties up to lifetime. Manufacturer coverage depends on the product and brand, and on the project qualifying for that manufacturer's program. We put the exact warranty for your roof in writing.
Certified, with 30 years installing every major roofing brand, a family roofing business going back 75 years, and over $80 million in completed roofing projects. 5.0 stars on Google at all three of our offices.
Request a free inspection or call (817) 733-9228. Small repairs are welcome too.
