Sometimes you find yourself in the position of replacing your roof, or at least replacing some parts of it. But what do you do with the old materials? Do you throw them out? Could you use them again? In this post, we share some ideas of what you can do to bring back to life and repurpose old roof materials you no longer need above your head.

Gutters

There are a ton of ways you can re-purpose old gutters, here are just a few:

Create a gutter garden

Make a bookshelf for the little ones that’s visually accessible and space efficient

Throw the coolest backyard parties with your very own beer gutter picnic tables – just replace one slat with a gutter

Tiles

Why dispose of old roof tiles when you can re-purpose them into something both beautiful and useful.

Garden walkways

You can create pathways through your garden by outlining the route with a string, levelling out any bumps with a shovel and then laying down clay or asphalt tiles face down, the same way they were on your roof. Make sure the tiles are tightly lined up next to each other and that on the sides of the pathway, shore the surrounding soil by about 5cm creating a barrier to stop the tiles from slipping.

Garden Beds with Concrete Tiles

Bury the tiles vertically in the soil so that they stand up firmly. Fill the bed with soil and plant flowers or garden plants in it. The raised bed will drain water easily, and plants will grow well in these flower beds.

Outdoor Fire Pits

Using old clay tiles mark off where you want to locate your fire pit. Lay roof tiles curved downwards, end to end tightly forming a square. Continue by laying a second row of tiles on top, but this time lay them so that they are layered half a tile down so that the end don’t line up. At the corners, cut the tiles crosswise in half to fill the row completely. Repeat this process for the next layers and build it up to the height you want, usually around a metre high.

Wine Rack

Using barrel roof tiles you can create a unique and attractive wine rack.

Tile Again

You can use old tiles from your home roof and use them as tiles again for your outdoor shed or garage – protecting the roof and cool during the summer.

Garden Pots

Re-form old clay tiles into garden pots like these ones:

Roof shingles

Recently replaced some old, worn-out shingles on your roof? Before throwing them out, consider some of these ideas of re-purposing them – most of which can be really useful in everyday life.

Absorb Oil Stains

From time to time those drip, drip, drips from under your car or motorbike can leave horrid oil stain in your garage floor or driveway. You can protect the area where your vehicle/s rest with a large patch of shingles laid out on the ground.

Block Weeds

Shingles also make great weed blockers, you can use them while landscaping paths or in your garden around plants to prevents weeds from taking over.

Welcome mat

Create a mat for your front door or garage door with old shingles glued together.

Slate tiles

Old Slate tiles can be re-purposed into some very sophisticated pieces:

As a board

Using chalk, convert your old slate tiles into fancy black boards – shopping lists, garden signs, message board etc. Or if you want to try something a little bit more posh, at your next dinner party, use your old slate tile as a cheese board, you can chalk the names of each cheese next to them.

Get artistic

Lots of artists like to paint on slate. So why not try your hand at painting on them? Or see if there is a local artist or art school that might like to have them.

Placemats and coasters on the table

Slate tiles are a sensitive material to use, but an angle grinder tool or a slate cutter can help you cut pieces that cut out the the size you want.

Have you ever repurposed any of your old roofing materials? Tell us about how you utilised them in the comments below.