Blogs

Slate roof replacement for City of Kawartha Lakes City Hall with new North Country Unfading Black...

By Sheena Owen Apr 16th, 2018

In March 2016, the City of Kawartha Lakes Council approved the restoration of the City Hall. In September and October 2016, we supplied 86 squares of our North Country Unfading Black slate roof tiles (24” x 12” x ¼”) for this slate roof replacement project.

Canadian Unfading Black roof slates supplied for the restoration of the James...

By Sheena Owen Apr 12th, 2018

You can hear the ringmaster’s voice saying “Step right up, step right up. This way to the fabulous Circus of Life. Come one, come all, and see the most amazing sights in the universe. And the most amazing thing of all is that entrance is free. That's right folks, you don't pay a cent to get in.

North Country Semi-Weathering Gray Green new slate roof for Moffat Library in...

By Sheena Owen Apr 9th, 2018

North Country Semi-Weathering (Sea) Green is a premium quality roofing slate. A percentage of these slates will weather to tones of brown and buff over time. In 2017, we supplied 115 squares of 16” x random widths x ¼” for the Moffat Library re-roof which was part of the library’s major restoration project.

North Country Unfading Black slate project – Richardson Olmstead Complex...

By Sheena Owen Apr 4th, 2018

At the time of construction 1872-1880, the Buffalo State Asylum in New York was a state of the art building. The name changed in 1890 to Buffalo State Hospital and in 1972 was named Buffalo Psychiatric Center.

Historic Draper Street Black Slate Roofs – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

By Sheena Owen Mar 22nd, 2018

Most of the black slate roofs on Draper Street have been recently renovated to preserve their historic status. These natural roof slates, produced in Quebec, Canada are tested ASTM S1 and will last 75-100 years. Draper Street is named after William Henry Draper who was a politician, judge and lawyer in Upper Canada.

Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church – 756 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA

By Sheena Owen Mar 12th, 2018

The Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, built in 1872 is said to be the most Irish church in America with its Connemara marble pillars, exterior and stained glass windows. The Victorian Gothic style church was rebuilt after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco on April 18, 1906 at 5:12 am.

John McKenzie House – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

By Sheena Owen Feb 22nd, 2018

John McKenzie House, built in 1913 for the McKenzie family who moved to the Willowdale area and established a grain and cattle farm on 144 acres. As Toronto started to grow and spread out, John McKenzie saw the opportunity to sell off some of the land creating a subdivision.

6 Tips to get the best slate roof quote

By Sheena Owen Feb 12th, 2018

What is the color and is it unfading, semi-weathering or weathering? If you need to replace a few pieces of slates, it’s important that you try to match the new slates with the existing slates. You may need to remove a piece and check the back side to see what the original color was.

3 Tools you should invest in when installing and maintaining a slate roof

By Sheena Owen Feb 8th, 2018

When it comes to installing a slate roof or maintaining one, regular tools won’t do the job. The three tools you will need are; slate hammer, slate cutter and slate ripper. Just like slate has been around for a very long time, these tools have remained unchanged over the years.