Free calculators for Boston homeowners researching slate, storm damage, ice damming, and insurance claims. No signup, no email gate, no upsell — each tool takes one question and gives you a number.
Each tool takes a specific homeowner question and gives you a number. Edit any input. No email gate — you can leave the page without us ever knowing you were here.
“Is a slate roof actually worth the premium over 100 years?”
Runs your home's specifics through the actual 100-year math: material cost, lifespan multiples vs. asphalt re-roofs, copper flashing depreciation, and the property-value premium a slate roof carries in Greater Boston.
Jump to the calculator ↓“How bad is this storm damage and what do I do right now?”
A homeowner triage tool for immediate post-storm decisions. Routes you toward emergency inspection, repair, or full re-roof based on damage type, age, and material.
Jump to the calculator ↓“What's my ice-dam risk this winter and how do I fix it?”
Scores your home's ice-dam risk based on roof geometry, attic insulation, and existing ice protection. Outputs an honest priority order: insulation, ice-shield, ice-melt cable, or no action needed.
Jump to the calculator ↓“Should I file a claim on this damage or pay out of pocket?”
Helps you decide whether the damage is worth filing on your homeowner's policy or paying out-of-pocket to avoid the premium hit and the claim record. Honest, no upsell.
Jump to the calculator ↓“Should I subscribe to ongoing drone inspections?”
Models the cost-benefit of a recurring drone inspection program vs. waiting for a problem to surface. Most valuable for slate roofs over 80 years old and for owners managing multiple properties.
Jump to the calculator ↓A slate roof costs more on day one and less by year sixty. This works out where the crossover falls on your house, using Greater Boston replacement cycles rather than national averages.
Totals are in future dollars, with replacement costs escalated 3.5% a year, so long horizons produce large-looking numbers. The useful figure is the gap between the two columns and the year slate pulls ahead, not the absolute total. Planning figures, not a quote: real numbers depend on pitch, access, the state of the deck, and how much copper the roof needs. Arturo walks the roof before anyone puts a price on it.
Want these numbers checked against your actual roof? Send it over and Arturo will take a look. The assessment is free, and if the answer is that you do not need us yet, that is what you get told.
Sixty-second triage for a Greater Boston roof after a storm. Tell it what you can see from the ground and it tells you whether to monitor, schedule, hurry, or treat this as an emergency — plus a straight read on whether filing an insurance claim is worth it at your roof's age.
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Severity is the sum of the weights next to each sign, adjusted for how long ago the storm hit, capped at 100. An active leak or a visible hole forces the Emergency band regardless of the total; a tree on the roof sets a floor of Urgent. Cost ranges are Northeast contractor midpoints and are planning figures, not a quote. Arturo walks the roof before anyone puts a price on it.
Send it over and Arturo takes a look. The inspection is free, and if the answer is that the roof is fine, that is what you get told.
Most ice-dam damage in Greater Boston was readable from the attic before the first snow fell. Answer eight questions and you get a risk score, the cost of leaving it alone, and the order to spend money in.
Ranked by risk reduction per dollar against your specific weak points. Cost ranges are Northeast contractor midpoints in 2026 dollars.
Each factor adds to or subtracts from a baseline of 25, on the reasoning that any house in this climate carries some risk. The heaviest weights sit on attic insulation (worst case +35) and past ice-dam history (severe +25). The score caps at 100. This is a screening tool, not an engineering assessment — an attic inspection tightens the picture, and Arturo walks the roof before anyone puts a price on anything.
Want the attic looked at before the season turns? Send it over and Arturo takes a look. The assessment is free, and if the answer is that you do not need us yet, that is what you get told.
Adjusters turn down roof claims when the homeowner cannot show the damage was sudden and storm-related rather than gradual wear. This estimates where your roof sits before you call the carrier, using the same scoring the Benefitra tool uses.
Fill in the form to see the suggestion.
This is an estimate of likelihood, not insurance advice and not a coverage decision. Art Slate does not sell insurance and cannot tell you what your policy covers. Your carrier, your policy language, your deductible and the adjuster's findings decide the outcome. The percentage is a heuristic built from industry approval patterns, not a reading of your policy.
Want the roof looked at before you call the carrier? Arturo will climb it, photograph what is there and tell you plainly whether the damage reads as storm or as wear. The assessment is free, and if the answer is that filing would be a waste of your time, that is what you get told.
Roof failures start small: a few tabs lifted by a nor'easter, flashing pulled loose by an ice dam, moss under a maple. Caught early the fix is a morning's work. Left for two winters it becomes deck rot and ceiling damage. This prices quarterly drone monitoring on your roof and works out whether the maths holds up.
Fill in the roof details to see the maths.
Post-storm flyby, both tiers. When a named storm crosses your ZIP, subscribers are scheduled for a flyby inside 72 hours. If there is damage the report is formatted so an adjuster can use it. If there is none you have a dated baseline photo set for next time.
Planning figures, not a quote. Prices are set from your answers and may change after a site survey if the roof differs from the form. Flights depend on FAA Part 107 rules, local airspace and weather, and the 72-hour storm response runs as soon as it is safe to fly. A drone survey is not a structural engineering report.
First flyby is free. Arturo sends the photographic report and walks you through what is on the roof. If the report says nothing needs doing, that is what it says.
We'd rather you make an informed decision and not hire us than make an uninformed one and regret it.
Every calculator runs in your browser. No email gate, no upsell, no follow-up. You can leave the page without us ever knowing you were here.
If a slate roof isn't right for your home, the math will tell you. If a repair beats a re-roof, the math will tell you. If a claim costs more in premium than you'd recover, the math will tell you.
Lifespans, costs, and risk thresholds are set to the slate, copper, and weather realities of Boston and the North and South Shores — not national averages.
If the numbers point toward slate, copper, or a chimney rebuild, the next step is a free on-roof assessment. The owner walks every job himself — no obligation, honest scope.
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