Stillwater, Minnesota
Careful Slate Roofing in Stillwater, MN
Slate is no novelty on the bluffs above the St. Croix. On a fair number of lumber era houses it is the original roof, still shedding water after a century in Stillwater, where a slope of quarried stone has already outlasted two or three rounds of the asphalt that went on next door.
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Where Stillwater's Original Slate Still Sits
Walk the North Hill and you see steep pitches broken by dormers, turrets, porch roofs and cornice returns, a shape that carries far more flashing per square than any modern gable. Where slate went on those houses during the lumber years, a good deal of it is still up there, and the failures are usually not the stone at all. They are the nails and the copper, the valley metal packed solid with leaf litter under the mature canopy, and the slipped slates below a chimney that was repointed badly forty years ago. Which of those you are dealing with decides whether you are buying a repair or a roof, so every job here starts with a certified roof assessment that maps the roof by section: which units still ring sound, which are delaminating at the head lap, and whether the deck under them will hold a nail.
Slate Roofing in Stillwater
What Real Slate Does on These Hill Houses
A Roof Measured in Generations
Quarried slate on a steep hill pitch outlasts three or four asphalt cycles, so the next owner of a South Hill house inherits a roof instead of another tear off.
Flashing That Fits the Ornament
Dormer cheeks, turret bases and porch returns get soldered metal shaped on site, so the many transitions on a lumber era roofline stop leaking instead of getting caulked again every spring.
Valleys That Shed Canopy Litter
Open valleys in heavier gauge metal let the leaf pack from the ravine trees wash through rather than dam up, which is where most old Stillwater slate roofs actually go wrong.
Snow Retention Set Above Entries
Steep slate releases a whole winter load at once onto porch roofs and front stairs, so we set snow retention above entries and lower slopes on the bluff side houses.
Historic Character Kept Intact
Matching color, size, thickness and exposure means a repaired slope reads as original from the sidewalk, which matters on streets where the roofline is most of the house.
New Slate Where None Existed
Away from the two hills, on newer Stillwater streets and out toward Woodbury or Oakdale, slate is a deliberate choice rather than an inheritance, so we size the framing to carry the weight before the first course goes on.
How We Work on Stillwater Slate
We Sort Repair From Replacement First
Nobody here gets handed a replacement proposal for a slope that needs eighty slates and new valley metal. We tell you which one it is in writing, with the counts and the affected sections marked.
We Handle the Heritage Permit Path
Downtown work falls inside the Stillwater Commercial Historic District, listed in 1992, so a design permit goes to the Heritage Preservation Commission first. We prepare the material documentation before anything is scheduled.
Sound Slates Return to the Visible Slope
Sound slates lifted off a rear or hidden slope get reused on the street facing elevation, with new stock filling the back, so the courses everyone sees stay closest to what the house was built with.
We Plan for Hill Street Access
Narrow lots, ravine grades and stair streets mean staging is settled before the truck arrives: where the dumpster sits, how stone reaches the ridge, and which neighbor's drive stays clear.
We Answer Storm Calls Any Hour
Wind coming up the river valley can strip a section overnight, so we stay reachable around the clock to get open deck covered and to document the damage the way an adjuster needs it recorded.
What people near Stillwater say
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 We live in Eden Prairie. Orange did an excellent job on our siding replacement and provided great customer service all the way through.
Thomas DeSutterSiding replacement, Eden Prairie, MN
Stillwater Slate Questions
What people in Stillwater ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Are there really original slate roofs left in Stillwater?
Yes, mostly on the North Hill and South Hill houses built during the lumber era, plus a number of churches and downtown blocks. Not every steep Victorian up there is slate, though. Many were shingled in wood or asphalt from the start, and other roofs were stripped in the 1970s. We can usually tell from the ground and confirm it on the roof.
Does the Heritage Preservation Commission review a slate roof in Stillwater?
It depends on where the building sits. Exterior alterations inside the Stillwater Commercial Historic District, listed in 1992, need a design permit reviewed by the commission before work starts, and visible materials are part of that review. Many houses on the hills fall outside that boundary. We check the address first rather than assume either way.
When does repairing old Stillwater slate beat replacing the whole roof?
When the slate still rings solid and the failures sit in the metal. Hard slate commonly outlasts two rounds of nails and flashing, so valley, chimney and step flashing work can buy decades. Replacement wins when slates delaminate across entire slopes, when the deck no longer holds fasteners, or when past patches were face nailed everywhere.
Get Your Slate Slope Looked At
Send us the address and we will walk the slopes, count the broken and slipped units, and tell you honestly whether your slate wants repair or replacement in kind. Estimates are free and carry no obligation.
Get Your Free Exterior Estimate
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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