Lays slate and goes up on every estimate. Cuts and punches slate by hand for the odd shapes in an old roof.
About
A small firm that lays slate by hand
Eight people, one owner who is a slater, and a short list of rules.
Thelma Dandridge started Rondout Slate & Cedar to do one kind of work well: old roofs on old houses. She goes up on every estimate and checks every job before the scaffold comes down. The crew is small, so the person who looked at your roof is the person on it.
The firm is named for the creek that runs through the oldest part of Kingston. Most of what we do is within a short drive of it.
Thelma Dandridge
Owner and slater
Who is on your roof
The people on your roof
Four more crew work on the roofs. These are the people you will talk to.
Mariusz Ostrowski
Foreman, cedar and copper
Runs the crew day to day. Splits and fits cedar, and forms copper valleys and flashings in the shop.
Evelyn Murillo
Slater's apprentice
Learning slate on the roof and in the yard: sorting salvage, punching nail holes, laying courses.
Katya Kravchenko
Office and scheduling
Books visits, sends the written estimates, and handles permit and review-board paperwork.
How we work
Four rules we keep
Tied off, every roof
A harness and an anchor for anyone near an edge, and ladders set and tied before anyone climbs.
Sorted on the ground
Slate is sorted as it comes off, so good pieces are kept and counted.
Photos before prices
You see what we found before you see what it costs.
Estimates in writing
Line by line, with the extras named and the warranty terms attached.
Meet Thelma on your roof
Ask for a visit and she will come up with you.