Roofing That Outlasts the Structure Beneath

The older farmhouses, colonials, and cape-style homes that define much of Pittston’s residential character were built with heavier framing, deeper rafters, and steeper pitches than most modern residential construction. That structural heritage makes many of these properties genuine candidates for slate roofing, which requires a roof capable of supporting the material’s substantial weight—typically between 800 and 1,500 pounds per square depending on thickness and slate type. ABL Roofing installs slate for homeowners who want a roof that will not be replaced in their lifetime, and in many cases not in the next generation’s either.

Slate installation is a trade-specific skill that cannot be replicated with standard roofing practices. Each tile is hand-nailed individually using copper or stainless steel fasteners that resist corrosion through a century of contact with the stone. ABL Roofing begins every slate project with a structural load assessment to confirm the framing can carry the additional dead load, installs a code-compliant underlayment before the first course is set, and lays out the horizontal coursing lines, headlap distances, and tile sizing sequences by hand before a single nail is driven.

Request a structural and site evaluation to determine whether your property’s framing is prepared for slate installation.

How Slate Handles Conditions That Degrade Other Materials

Slate functions differently from manufactured roofing materials because it is a natural stone product with no organic core, no granule surface coating, and no adhesive layer capable of degrading over time. The material does not absorb water, does not support biological growth across its face, and does not compress or distort under sustained load. ABL Roofing calibrates fastener placement to allow each tile to hang under gravity rather than being pinched between fasteners, a distinction that prevents stress fracturing through thermal movement and allows the installation to perform correctly across decades of use.

A properly installed slate roof shows consistent coursing alignment, uniform headlap across the full field, and no chipped corners at the fastener holes—all indicators that tiles were selected, sorted, and nailed by someone experienced with the material. After installation, the interior ceiling below the roof stays dry even when snow and ice accumulate heavily on the surface, because slate’s natural density prevents moisture wicking through the tile body. ABL Roofing clears the job site of slate debris, staging equipment, and removed roofing material after each work phase, so the property is left clean as each section is completed.

Slate also requires flashings—typically copper or lead-coated copper—that are matched to the material’s service life. Using shorter-lived flashing metals defeats the purpose of a century-scale installation, because the flashings will fail long before the slate does. Valley and chimney flashings on a slate installation are formed on site to fit the specific geometry of the roof rather than cut from standard stock.