Last reviewed October 31, 2026.
The slater climbs down with a handful of broken pieces and a question. Patch the bad spots, redo the copper around the chimney, or strip the whole roof? Each answer carries a very different price, and few Long Island companies put slate numbers in writing. The ones that do are below.
For natural versus synthetic, the weight question and how to find a slater, see our slate roof page.
Natural slate replacement, priced by Long Island roofers
Three Long Island companies publish what a new natural slate roof costs.
| Source | Published price |
|---|---|
| Alec’s Construction (May 2026) | $1,500 to $3,000 per square (100 sq ft) |
| EZ Builders, East Rockaway | $15 to $30 per sq ft, $30,000 to $60,000 for a 2,000 sq ft roof |
| Rebuild America, Mineola | Often begins around $39,600 |
Do the math on Alec’s per-square price and it lands on the same $15 to $30 a foot that EZ Builders lists. Just over the Sound, RoofVista’s 2026 Westchester guide comes in close at $15 to $28 per square foot installed, or $45,000 to $84,000 for 3,000 square feet of roof.
That guide also shows how far apart the materials sit. A roughly 2,400 square foot roof costing about $14,000 in architectural shingles could run $35,000 to $55,000 in natural slate in a regulated historic district. Natural slate makes up 5 to 8 percent of projects there, mostly in historic villages and estate communities.
Fixing one slate at a time
One cracked slate is a small repair with a big minimum. No Long Island roofer we found prices it per piece, so these figures come from farther away.
Weathershield Roofers, a South Carolina company that covers slate repair, published this list in March 2026: one slate, $200 to $500. Five to ten slates, $500 to $1,500. Chimney or valley flashing repair, $800 to $2,500. Ridge cap replacement, $1,000 to $3,000. Repairs for failing nails, $500 to $2,000 per area.
Even when the roofer swaps only one slate, Weathershield says a slate specialist’s minimum service call typically runs $300 to $500.
Fixr’s national numbers, updated in January 2025, come in lower: $50 to $200 for a slipped slate, $75 to $250 for a cracked one and $250 to $1,000 for a leak, with labor at $50 to $100 an hour. Fixr is a national cost site, not a slate company, so read these as national averages rather than Long Island quotes.
Restoring an old slate roof instead of replacing it
Between a spot repair and a tear-off sits restoration: replacing only the deteriorated slates, re-nailing loose ones and putting in new copper flashing. RoofVista’s Westchester guide prices that at $8,000 to $25,000, against $33,000 to $70,000 or more for full replacement of a typical 2,400 square foot roof.
Timing matters too. The same guide says most reputable Westchester slate contractors are booked three to six months in advance, because qualified slate craftsmen are scarce.
Synthetic slate pricing next to the real thing
RoofVista’s Long Island guide (March 2026) puts synthetic slate at $11.55 to $18.90 per square foot installed, with an average project of $22,000 to $45,000 for a typical 1,500 to 2,100 square foot home. Its Westchester guide quotes $9.50 to $16.00, roughly 35 to 45 percent less than natural slate, for material that weighs about 50 to 60 percent less.
Our slate roof page compares the products themselves, and the roof replacement cost guide sets synthetic slate against asphalt, metal and tile.
Copper flashing and the slater’s hourly rate
Salt air along Long Island Sound corrodes standard galvanized flashing and nails, according to RoofVista’s Westchester guide. So reputable Sound Shore contractors specify stainless steel or copper flashing and fasteners as standard, which adds $1,500 to $3,500 to a project.
Then comes labor. The guide puts experienced slate or copper craftsmen at $45 to $75 an hour, against $30 to $50 for standard shingle installers, and says slate takes two to three times longer to install than shingles.
Copper also shows up in the restoration scope above. The masonry side of chimney work lives on our chimney repair page, and flashing prices for shingle roofs are in the roof repair cost guide.
Framing, decking and the extras billed on top
North Shore Roofing in Port Washington names what pushes a slate price up: structural support changes for heavier natural slate, custom cuts or color blending, and flashing, insulation and waterproofing. EZ Builders says structural repairs, chimney flashing, skylights and gutters are billed separately and can add $2,000 to $8,000, with damaged roof decking at $70 to $150 a sheet.
None of these companies publishes a separate price for tearing off old slate, and we did not find a Long Island figure for it. Ask for it as its own line. Ask, too, how many replacement slates are included and whether the copper is new or reused. Two slate quotes only compare once those three lines match.
