Slate roofers archived

I used Ben Bentley (Bentley Bros) and have been impressed by his attention to detail. It was a long wait before he could fit us in (I think it was about 8 months after Hurricane Irene before he got to us), but once he was here, he spent a good deal of time trying to figure out the problem before rushing into major repairs and was willing to wait to make sure all the problems were taken care of before he considered the job done to his satisfaction. I have to go look up the number, but I'll post it back here later. I recall he said they work year-round (except in rain or when there's snow/ice) except for a mid-winter break.

I've seen Hart's trucks around a lot. We used them once, years ago, for a gutter-related problem. They took care of the problem, but I wasn't happy with the attitude of the guy who came to do the work. Maybe it was just my own reaction to him. Can't fault the work they did, but it didn't involve the actual roof.

Other option in Lowe and also A
Maarten roofing

I have a slate roof and was strongly warned to not use Hart and less strongly not to use Lowe. We used A Maarten and are very pleased with the work they did. Peter Traub seemed quite good, too. I might be inclined to wait for one of the better roofers if the leak isn't too bad or if one can tarp it in the interim.

Novalis roofers from chatham

Dave Decastro recently made some major repairs to our slate roof (damaged during Sandy). We were very pleased with the response time and the work. Check archives for other recommendations he has received in the past and for contact information.

We used Bentley Brothers after Hurricane Irene and really liked him and his work. Wasn't the cheapest but certainly like him and the attention to detail. That was more important then a quick fix as we wanted it done right.

A Maarten has done our roof for at least 20 years. he did a major repair after Irene and it looks great (and doesn't leak, but it never has!). He may have the same Peter Traub problem after sandy, though....

Avoid Hart & Sons.

A Maarten

Paul Davis Restorations replaced my slate garage roof after "Snowtober" last year. Not sure if they do minor repairs or not though. Traub returned my call but was booked for the next 3 months, and Maarten didn't return my call, but I have heard that both of them are very good, just tough to get after a major disaster, which we have three of in the past two years.

h4daniel said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for slate roofers? I have looked at older threads, but I wanted to know if anyone had new information. We have used Peter Traub and really like him but he is so busy because of the storm that I cannot get him. I recently saw a sign for Zimmerman but have never seen his name mentioned....

Have not heard of Zimmerman. The problem you are having w/Traub is common with slaters in our area. I called Guffman just after Sandy - still waiting.

Brad Needleman of Needleman Roofing in North Plainfield. He replaced the copper flashing on my roof a couple of years ago and did a great job. He's an expert, and reasonably priced in my opinion.

Thanks Don, I actually saw the sign for Needleman, not Zimmerman, don"t know what I was thinking ;]

A second vote for Dave Decastro. Good guy, honest
862-242-0443

Another vote for A Maarten. We've been very happy with them for our slate roof.

I have been using Dave DeCastro (and his dad when they worked together) for 23 years. I am very pleased with him. He is responsible and gives fair prices.

I had tried Bentley Bros, but Ben B. disappeared when the leak he was supposed to have fixed was not fixed. The U.S. mail address they had given me (in Summit) does not exist.

Hart is very expensive. I found I could do much better with other roofers.

Yet another happy A Maartin customer.

Bentley Bros just finished our roof. We had several leaks due to prior inadequate (not by Bentley) repairs. They came the first time this past April, didn't bill us at that time because they wanted to make sure it was completely fixed. We still had issues, which was when they realized it wasn't just a problem with a few slates, but that someone had repaired the snow guards and put them in the wrong way which was causing more leaks and that there was a bad spot of fascia board. They came back in June, did more repairs, still didn't bill us. Still had a little problem, which was because the gutters hadn't been properly fastened (again, not by Bentley - it was a gutter company out of Union who replaced them). Came back in August, fixed the gutters. Still didn't bill us because they wanted to wait for some heavy rains to make sure the leak was definitely fixed. During this time, Ben called every month or so to see what was happening. After Sandy, we were pretty sure it was fixed, so he billed us at that point.

Initially, I was annoyed that it took so long to get them to do our roof (we waited about 6 months after Irene and then the Halloween snow storm of last year), but I'm happy with their work and they were responsive. I don't know why things were different from mbb's experience, and I understand that poster's non-satisfaction with the company. Just wanted to give you another viewpoint.

I'm considering getting snow guards, since my roof has a very steep pitch and snow comes rumbling down to cover my (always recently shoveled) front steps. I understand that if they're improperly installed, leaks are a strong possibility. This happened to a neighbor of mine. My house was built in 1932 without the snow guards, so I'm wondering if I should leave well enough alone. Has anyone here had guards installed on an older roof that never had them?

Don_Maxton said:

Has anyone here had guards installed on an older roof that never had them?

Yes. About 10 years ago, in attempt to minimize , ice/snow overload of gutters, and ice damming. No problems since. Maybe just because of milder winters, rather than the guards. No leaks. Done by MOL's own knowledgeable "daylaborer" -now in retirement, I believe, but still happy to answer any roofing questions via the "send a message" link.

I wondered what happened to daylaborer. I always enjoyed his posts.

Hart is absolutely to be avoided. He lets you know up front he doesn't give a crap about you and he also lets you know he takes the highest price out there and doubles it as he is only interested in plum insurance jobs.

We installed snow guards on our older slate roof and did not have a problem. Before we had them the snow/ice coming down in sheets was a real hazard. Made a big difference.

Can anyone recommend a roofer who is fair but not alarmist? We are trying to sell and the buyer got a huge estimate on repairs to the roof. It has never leaked even a drop and the roofer I had in when I bought said "it's absolutely fine--call me in 15 years." Not sure whether this is just some sort of rip-off--never heard of the roofer--don't want to gyp the buyer but can not afford the kind of money they are talking about.

I found Bentley Brothers to be very reasonable. They tried the simplest fix first for our leak, then worked up to more extensive corrections, but still not unreasonable. They could have suggested taking off a good-sized section of the slates to see what was underneath, but they went slowly and found that the problem was only a few slates, but a miserably botched gutter installation (which they had nothing to do with).

Mike Brenner. Valley Road area of West Orange. 973-761-7759. Knows the area/houses/age of roofs/when you can repair and when it's time to do something else. Has done all sorts of work from us - from relining gutters, replacing individual slates to stop/prevent leaks, reflashing, repair of storm damage to entire replacement from slate to more modern materials where asthetics were not necessary. Shows up when he says he will.

Brad Needleman, 908-797-2898. Excellent, fair and knowledgeable.