Tile and slate are the longest-lived roofs you can put on a DuPage County home, and Wheaton's older neighborhoods around Scott Street and the College Avenue district have natural slate roofs still shedding water after 90-plus years. Summit & Slate Roofing installs and restores both natural slate and concrete or clay tile across Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, and Naperville. Owner Mark Sundeen has run in-house crews since 2005, so the same people who measure your roof are the ones standing on it. These systems are heavy and unforgiving of bad workmanship, which is exactly why they reward a contractor who installs them correctly the first time.
The Chicago freeze-thaw cycle is the real test for any roof here, and tile and slate handle it better than almost anything else. We routinely swing from the low teens in January to spring rains within the same week, and that repeated freeze and thaw is what cracks cheaper materials and lifts asphalt granules. Natural slate and properly fired clay tile absorb almost no water, so there is little to freeze and expand. The weak point is never the tile, it is the flashing, the underlayment, and the fasteners, which is where most failing slate roofs in Glen Ellyn actually leak.
Weight is the conversation every Wheaton homeowner needs to have before falling in love with a slate roof. A standard asphalt roof weighs around 250 pounds per square (a 10-foot-by-10-foot area). Concrete tile runs 700 to 1,100 pounds per square, and natural slate can hit 1,500 or more. Many homes built before the 1990s, and most newer Naperville subdivisions framed for asphalt, need engineered rafter or truss reinforcement before they can legally carry that load. We evaluate this honestly up front rather than selling you a roof your house cannot hold.
You don't need to book a sales visit to find out where your home lands: enter your address, we measure your roof from satellite imagery, and you get a real estimate range in minutes. We serve Wheaton, Naperville, Aurora, Lisle, Glen Ellyn and Downers Grove and the surrounding the Chicago western suburbs towns.
When do you need Tile & Slate Roofing in Wheaton?
An honest contractor should talk you out of work you don't need. We recommend Tile & Slate Roofing when we see:
- Granules collecting in your gutters and downspouts
- Curling, cupping, or missing shingles
- Daylight or water stains in the attic
- A roof past 20 years on a single layer
- Repeated leaks at the same valley or flashing
- Storm or hail damage documented by an adjuster
If none of these apply, we will tell you so. We would rather earn a repair today than sell a replacement you do not need.
What Summit & Slate Tile & Slate Roofing actually includes
No good-better-best games. This is what is in every Tile & Slate Roofing job we do across Wheaton:
Natural Slate Roofing
We install quarried slate in standard and graduated patterns, the kind found on Wheaton's century-old homes. Real slate carries a 75 to 100-plus year service life, and we use copper or stainless fasteners and copper flashing so the metal outlasts the stone instead of failing first.
Concrete and Clay Tile
Concrete and clay tile give you a 50-plus year roof at a lower price point than natural slate, and they suit both the Mediterranean-style homes and newer custom builds around Naperville. We carry interlocking profiles rated for the wind and hail this region sees every summer.
Structural Load Assessment
Before any tile or slate goes up, we determine whether your framing can carry 700 to 1,500 pounds per square. When it cannot, we coordinate engineered reinforcement and pull the proper DuPage or city of Wheaton permits so the install is fully code-compliant.
Slate Roof Repair and Restoration
Most failing slate roofs in Glen Ellyn and Wheaton do not need replacement, they need the flashing, valleys, and broken individual slates addressed. We match salvaged or new slate by thickness and color and replace failed nails before water reaches the deck.
Copper Flashing and Valleys
Slate and tile last a century, but galvanized flashing rusts through in 20 to 30 years. We flash chimneys, valleys, and sidewalls in copper or stainless so the weakest part of the system is built to match the lifespan of the roof itself.
How Tile & Slate Roofing works with Summit & Slate
Five steps from first call to final walkthrough. You know what happens and when, the whole way through.
On-Site Roof and Structure Evaluation
Mark or a lead estimator inspects your roof, attic, and framing. We measure pitch, confirm the deck condition, and calculate the dead load your tile or slate choice will add so we know up front whether reinforcement is needed.
Material Selection and Engineering
We walk you through natural slate, clay, and concrete tile with real samples and honest lifespans and price ranges. If your home needs framing reinforcement, we bring in a structural engineer and fold that into one clear written quote.
Permitting and Scheduling
We pull the required permits with the city of Wheaton, Naperville, or DuPage County and schedule the install around the weather. Tile and slate are best set in dry, moderate conditions, not during a January freeze.
Tear-Off and Deck Preparation
We remove the old roof, inspect every board, and replace rotted decking. We install a high-temperature underlayment and, in valleys and eaves, a self-adhering ice-and-water membrane to defend against the ice dams common on DuPage roofs.
Installation and Final Inspection
Our in-house crew sets each tile or slate by hand with copper or stainless fasteners and copper flashing. We walk the finished roof with you, clean the site to bare ground, and back the work with our 25-year transferable workmanship warranty.
How much does Tile & Slate Roofing cost in Wheaton?
Most Wheaton-area tile & slate roofing jobs run $24,000 to $60,000, set by roof size, pitch, and material.
Real -area ranges for a typical home, including tear-off and disposal:
| Material | Installed range | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt shingleMost common choice | $24,000 to $42,000 | 25 to 30 yrs |
| Impact-rated shingleClass 4, insurance discount | $27,600 to $51,000 | 30 yrs |
| Standing-seam metalLongest service life | $54,000 to $96,000 | 50 yrs |
Ranges, not quotes, pitch, layers, chimneys, and skylights move the number. Your free satellite estimate narrows this to your exact home. Financing from /mo with $0 down; checking your rate is a soft pull and won't affect your credit.
From Tile & Slate Roofing customers
"Our 1962 ranch had three layers of shingles and Mark's crew tore all of it down to the deck instead of laying over like the last company wanted to. They found rotted sheathing over the garage we never knew about and replaced it before the new GAF shingles went on. Site was spotless every night. The 25-year warranty is in writing and transferable, which mattered to us since we may sell in a few years."
"After last February's freeze-thaw stretch we had water staining the upstairs ceiling. Mark came out himself, showed me the attic had almost no soffit-to-ridge airflow, which is why the ice dams kept forming. They added baffles and a ridge vent and re-did the valley flashing. No leaks through this past winter. He explained the actual cause instead of just selling me a new roof."
"The June hail storm beat up our roof and Mark's office walked us through the whole insurance claim. They met the adjuster on site and documented everything. Crew finished our two-story in a single day, in-house guys, no random subs showing up. Impact-resistant Class 4 shingles went on and our insurer gave us a premium discount for it. Honest pricing, no high-pressure storm-chaser nonsense."
"A summer wind event ripped shingles off the back slope. Two storm-chasing companies knocked on our door the same week with scary estimates. We called Summit & Slate instead because they are local and GAF Master Elite. Fair quote, no pressure, and they matched the existing shingle color almost perfectly. Mark stands behind his work and you can actually reach him."
"Got three quotes for replacing our aging architectural shingle roof. Summit & Slate was not the cheapest but Mark walked the roof, photographed the soft spots, and gave a line-item estimate with no surprises. Crew was respectful, protected the landscaping, and ran a magnet over the whole yard for nails when they finished. The transferable workmanship warranty sealed it for us."
Why choose a family-owned, GAF Master Elite Contractor roofer?
Mark Sundeen started Summit & Slate Roofing in 2005 after a decade installing roofs across DuPage County, tired of watching homeowners get burned by storm-chasers and subcontracted crews. He grew up in Wheaton and still lives here, so when he warranties a roof for 25 years he expects to drive past it for the next 25. Summit & Slate runs its own crews, never subs out the work, and holds GAF Master Elite certification, a standing fewer than 2% of US roofing contractors earn. Mark's standard is simple: tear off to the deck, fix what the last guy hid, flash it right, and leave a roof that survives a Chicago winter and an August derecho. He still climbs roofs on the hard ones.