BRIEF WRITTEN OPINION ABOUT YOUR SLATE ROOF ISSUED ON OUR LETTERHEAD ($350.00):
Take an entire roll of color print film
of the roof, showing all sides, include closeups if possible,
and show the entire building in some of the shots, including
the ground around it.
Send these photos either in print form or
digital form on a CD, along with a piece of the roof slate
that is at least as big as a man's hand (preferably a whole
piece), and any information you have about the roof, such
as its age, location, type of building, history of the building,
etc.
Include your return address, phone number,
email, fax, website, and any other contact information you
may have. Also include a check in the amount of $350.00 payable
to Joseph Jenkins, Inc..
Mail or UPS (it's preferable to not fedex
or airexpress it - they can never find us!) to Joseph Jenkins,
Inc., 143 Forest Lane, Grove City, PA 16127.
A written opinion will be issued to you
based upon the information provided. Have questions? Call
us at 866-641-7141 or email.
We
have offered slate roof consulting services nationwide
since 1998. Some of our projects have included the Smithsonian
Institution Building, Washington DC; Ford's
Theater, Washington DC; Cathedral of
St. Andrew, Little Rock, Arkansas; Castle
Park, St. Louis, MO area; the Gibraltar
Estate, Wilmington, Delaware, Glenridge
Hall, Atlanta, GA area; the Zimmerman
Estate, Delaware Water Gap National Park; Grove
City College, Pennsylvania; Indiana
University of Pennsylvania; Grand Hall,
Pittsburgh, PA; and many churches and private
residences (roof surveys and conditions reports,
assessments, evaluations, restoration recommendations,
installation specifications). None of these projects
required an architect, although we often work with architects
to help develop project specifications.
We provide slate roof consulting services for new traditional
slate roof installations as well as for existing slate
roofs, no matter what age. Our services are utilized by
insurance companies, architectural firms, property owners,
law firms, general contractors and roofing contractors,
among others. Our services are provided in five basic ways:
1) Email Consultations:
At times our clients will want us to review photos and
information about a specific roof, then offer opinions
and/or advice regarding the roof or its restoration, repair
or installation. We can often provide this service via
email, which is relatively quick and inexpensive.
2) Mail Consultations: In
the event that email is not sufficient because a written,
letterhead document is required from us for a specific
purpose, then a mail consultation will often suffice.
3) Remote Technical Support: We
provide email, phone, mail and fax support for ongoing
slate roofing projects when no site visit is required.
4) Site Visits: We must visit
a slate roof on-site in order to conduct a roof survey
and prepare a conditions report. This service is necessary
when a detailed report on the current conditions of a slate
roof is needed.
5) Forensic Services: We offer expert witness services.
About Slate Roofs
Slate (stone) roofs have been installed on a large scale
in the United States for over 150 years. These roof systems
have been phenomenally successful — some slate roofs
that are already 150 years old are still functioning well
in this country today. Early slate roof tradesmen carried
their traditional skills over from their countries of origin — often
Wales, Ireland, Scotland or England. Today, following practices
built upon tried-and-proven traditional methodologies,
we can install new slate roofs that can be expected to
last a century, if not two.
Although slate roofing was once an art practiced by nearly
every roofing contractor a century ago, most of those
experts have long since passed away. Much of the basic
knowledge about successful slate roof installations has
become lost to modern roofing contractors and architects
whose primary focus is now on asphalt and low-slope roof
systems. Slate roofs require adequate headlaps and sidelaps,
proper nails,
roof slope, tools and
installation procedures. They require a roof deck that
will last at least as long as the slate. They cannot
rely on underlayments (roofing paper) to make them water-tight
as no underlayments have the longevity of the stone itself.
If done correctly, a modern slate roof will be built
upon four fundamental elements: the slate, the fasteners (typically
copper nails), the substrate or roof deck (typically
wood), and the flashings (typically
copper). Correctly installed, such a roof will last 150
years or more while remaining water-tight and virtually
trouble-free.
About Joseph Jenkins
Joe Jenkins, Principal of Joseph Jenkins, Inc., became
a roofer’s helper in 1968 at the age of 16 while
still in high school, when he trained under a 63 year-old
professional roofer. He began his own business in 1970,
working during the summer months while putting himself
through college. He has personally worked on over 1,000
slate roofs since then. Much of Jenkins’ training
and knowledge about slate roofs came from the deceased
roofers of old, whose work Jenkins removed and restored
on hundreds of slate roofs over a career spanning decades.
It is from this experience restoring century-old slate
roofs that Jenkins gained his understanding of traditional
slate roofing systems.
Jenkins is the author of the award-winning Slate
Roof Bible (1997), editor and publisher of the Traditional
Roofing Magazine (traditionalroofing.com), and author
of articles about slate
roofs for Traditional Building Magazine, Period Homes
Magazine, the RCI Interface Journal, and the American
Society of Home Inspectors ASHI Reporter. Jenkins speaks internationally
on the topic of slate roofs and has been written about
in numerous media outlets. In 2005, he founded the Slate
Roofing Contractors Association of North America
(slateroofers.org). He is also a member of the Roof Consultants
Institute (RCI) and was on the Board of Directors of
the National
Slate Association, but is not affiliated with any
slate quarry, slate supplier, or other industry entity
in such a manner that would affect the objectivity of
his consulting services.
Joseph Jenkins, Inc. maintains a slate roofing supply service
at slateroofcentral.com,
which includes a public message
board about slate, tile and asbestos roofing.
Costs for our services vary
according to factors that include size and number of
roofs, location, accessibility, degree of difficulty,
number of site visits required, etc.
