What does it look like?
BlueScope calls it light, delicate and warm, like silvered tree bark and granite. It's a soft grey rather than a blue-grey, so it's easy to live with beside warm materials. BlueScope says it complements granite, dark timber, grey brickwork and light render.
Its palettes use Monument Matt trims against a Shale Grey roof, put Monument cladding under it, or flip the idea and run Shale Grey fascias under a Basalt roof.
Light or medium? It depends on the rulebook
Shale Grey's published solar absorptance is 0.44. Apply the thresholds BlueScope publishes and NSW BASIX calls it light, because its light band runs up to 0.475, while the older NCC 2019 bands call it medium, because theirs stopped at 0.40. Neither label changes much for a new house: it's well clear of the 0.64 figure that decides the simpler compliance path in zones 1 to 5.
The Matt sheet absorbs slightly more, at 0.46. That takes it just over 0.45, the cut-off BlueScope uses for its cool roofing colours and the number that matters under NCC Volume One, the volume for larger buildings. For a house it rarely matters, but if your designer is chasing 0.45, use Classic.
Building near the surf
BlueScope added Shale Grey to Ultra in 2022, so it's one of 7 colours made in the heavier-coated steel it recommends from 100 to 200 m of breaking surf. Ultra comes in the Classic finish, so a Matt Shale Grey roof is for homes beyond 200 m of surf or exposed water, or on protected water like a harbour or estuary.
How we'd choose
Near the coast, we'd order Classic Shale Grey in Ultra and be done. Inland, we'd put Classic and Matt sheets next to each other outside, ideally against your brick or render. Matt looks softer, but BlueScope says matching Matt gutters, fascia and flashings come in a selected range, so ask what your supplier can get before falling for it. As for who we are: an independent referral service, with no tie to BlueScope.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.