Anoka, Minnesota
Quality Slate Roofing in Anoka, MN
If original slate still exists anywhere in this county, it is on the 1800s and early 1900s houses near downtown Anoka, where roof, porch and bay run together in ways no modern plan repeats. On those houses the first question is not which slate to buy. It is whether the stone you already have is failing at all, or whether the metal around it is.
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Most old slate fails at the metal
Here is what we usually find on a downtown Anoka roof. The slates themselves are sound, sometimes a handful are broken or slipped, and the leak is coming from valley metal, dormer flashing or a chimney counterflashing that gave out first. Wind driven snow packs into those cut up valleys and behind the flashing, then melts against the wall. That is a repair, not a reroof, and we will say so even though a full replacement is the bigger job. When the roof really is done, which shows up as widespread delamination and nails letting go across whole planes, replacing in kind is the right call, and salvaged and new stone can be blended so a repaired plane does not read as a patch. If you are unsure which of those two you have, book a certified roof assessment, and we will tell you plainly which one you have.
Slate Roofing in Anoka
Repair, replace or leave it alone
Old valleys rebuilt, slate reused
On these roofs the valley metal usually dies before the stone does. We take slates off in courses, rebuild the valley, then set the same slates back, so you keep the original roof.
Replacement pieces that actually match
A hundred year old slate has weathered to a color no new piece has. We hunt salvage and blend it into the plane, and where we cannot, we pull matching pieces from a hidden slope.
Heritage review taken seriously
Anoka keeps a Heritage Preservation Commission, and visible materials on designated properties near downtown can need review. We build the scope with that in mind rather than finding out after the tear off.
Porch roofs get the right material
The porch and bay roofs on these houses are often too shallow for stone. Those belong in flat seam metal tied into the slate above, which is what a shallow porch roof needs.
Valleys sized for packed snow
Wind driven snow fills a narrow valley and then melts backward under the courses. On these cut up roofs we open the valleys wider than the minimum and run the metal higher up the sides.
We check what was there first
Some of these frame houses wore wood shingle, never stone, and their framing shows it. Before quoting slate we look for what the roof originally carried, because in kind is usually the right answer downtown.
How we handle Anoka's oldest roofs
The small job gets quoted too
If eight slates and a valley will fix it, that is what we write up. We would rather do the repair now than sell you a roof you do not need yet.
Rippers and hooks, not nail guns
Old slate comes off with a ripper and goes back with copper nails or a hook. Nothing on these roofs gets a pneumatic gun, and nobody walks the field when a hook ladder will do.
Midnight leaks in February
We are open 24 hours, seven days. Ice backing up behind a dormer does not wait for business hours, and getting a tarp and a bucket in place at night saves the plaster below.
The old roof gets documented
Before anything comes off we photograph the courses, the exposure and the flashing details. On a house this old that record is how the roof goes back the way it came off.
A free look before you decide
The estimate is free and there is no obligation, which matters on an old roof, because often the honest recommendation is to fix a valley and wait a few more winters.
What people near Anoka say
Orange Exteriors fixed a minor leak that involved replacing flashing and a few shingles blown off our roof. Timely, quality work. Great ideas to keep our roof going long term.
Jim ThomasStorm damage repair From sales to construction crew to upper management, they helped make an insurance battle a breeze. This is the best contractor interaction I have ever had.
Jim NormanRoof replacement Orange Exteriors did an excellent job with my new roofing install. Very professional, on time and hard working crew. Completed the job in one day.
Dick JohnsonRoof installation
Old roof questions we hear in Anoka
What people in Anoka ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Should I repair my old Anoka slate roof or replace it?
Repair, in most cases we see. If the slates ring solid underfoot and only a few are broken or slipped, the leak is almost always coming from valley metal or flashing, and rebuilding that is the fix. Replacement makes sense when slates are delaminating across whole planes or the nails have rusted through and pieces slide off after every thaw.
Does the Heritage Preservation Commission have to approve my roof?
It depends on your property. Anoka is the county seat and keeps a Heritage Preservation Commission, and several downtown properties are on the National Register, among them the Heman Ticknor House and the old post office. If yours is designated, visible materials can require review, so check with the city before ordering anything. If it is not, the choice is yours.
Why does my slate roof leak near the chimney every winter?
Because wind driven snow packs behind the counterflashing and melts against the masonry. The slate is doing its job, the metal at the chimney is not. On these steep, cut up roofs that is the usual pattern, and the repair is pulling a few courses, cutting new counterflashing into the mortar joint and setting the slates back.
Have the old slate looked at
Send us the address of the house and what you are seeing inside. We will get on the roof, look at the valleys and flashing, and tell you whether it is a repair or a reroof.
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Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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