Gray metal shingles: preserved in traditional style

In Stuart, Va, a community in southern part of the state, the ghosts of a mansion must be thanking the gods for their good fortune.

New owners are determine to preserve the beauty of the structure, including the roof.

In June of 2010 I met this mansion through an invitation of one of the last descendents of the original family. Three years later, an emailer asked me if we worked in Stuart. “It couldn’t be the same!” I thought.

But then I remembered how rural the area was. I was delighted to discover an opportunity to offer an estimate for keeping the roof.

The shingle design is the signature style of the embossed tin shingle period. Multiple painting has muted the lines, but with the application of a glossy version of the tradtional light grey, the design is quite visible.

As for color, the new owners could have selected black–a strong traditionals roof color in Virginia, or green–the second most popular tint for shingles, or several other choices I have seen with brick siding.

This owner wanted to stay with the original color of an embossed tin shingle–a light grey.

The porch took more work; no surprise there since porch roofs suffer more wear and tear. We installed the fully reinforced system to take care of some leaking and smooth out the roughness of the surface area.

Guys just left…I really like it! Can’t wait to bring out the dentil and scroll work now!

(The photos below only show the before period and the primer step.)