Blogs

Lake Forest Train Station with North Country Unfading Black natural slate shingles– Lake Forest,...

By Sheena Owen May 1st, 2018

The Lake Forest Train Station in Illinois was built between 1899-1900 and was the fourth station on the site. The larger English Tudor style train station opened in 1901, to accommodate the large city crowds who enjoyed Lake Forest’s weekend events like golf, horse shows and polo matches.

Slate Roof Pattern Designs

By Sheena Owen Apr 26th, 2018

The color of a natural slate is derived from its mineral and chemical composition. Each individual piece is unique with a subtle variation in shade and color. Some slates will weather over time, while others will retain their color.

Canadian Unfading Black roof slates (North Country Unfading Black)

By Sheena Owen Apr 23rd, 2018

Our Canadian Unfading Black roof slates are produced from a single source in St Marc Du Lac Long, Quebec, Canada near the Maine/New Brunswick border. This blue-black slate supplied 80 percent of the Canadian market during the 1880’s and the 1890s.

How to match an old 100 year slate roof

By Sheena Owen Apr 18th, 2018

Trying to match a 100 year old slate roof with new slate is never easy. When requested, we send a full range of colors exhibiting weathering characteristics to show roofing contractors, architects and building owners what they can expect to see with these natural slate colors.

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

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.

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