I have always been a student of history. I was born in Capitol Hill, (on C St., between 2nd and 3rd St. SE, behind the Hawk and Dove), and have worked here for many years. My high school was off North Capitol Street, a few blocks from the Capitol building and dates to 1821. My father was also born near Capitol Hill and told me many stories about my great grandfather who started a Capitol Hill roofing business in the 1920’s, which was housed in the basement of his home at 3rd and Independence Ave. S.E. That’s a lot of history to start this article!
With this personal background, I grew up being attached to the roofing business and the beautiful, historic, architecturally enhanced homes on the Hill. I have worked on many of the roofs of these homes over the years and have been especially drawn to the various architectural styles that developed primarily after the Projection Act of 1871, which, for the first time, allowed bay windows, corner towers or turrets and porches to “project” into public space granting builders and developers leeway to introduce popular elements of the various historic architectural styles still prevalent today. These styles included ornate Queen Anne examples and Federal style, Empire style, Italianate and others. During this time, longer rows of attached housing were also developed. These “row houses” enabled more affordable mass-produced architectural features appealing to middle class residents.
One outstanding feature of these new homes was the slate turret roofs. If you walk along the 200 block of 8th St. SE, near Eastern Market, you will see dozens of turret-style homes, many of which we have worked on. Or look at the dozens of these homes on the 1200 block of E St. NE, where we did a new slate turret and copper roof project for Mike and Andrea. There are many other streets with these turret roofs on the Hill and all over the city. Natural slate roofing was chosen by the city’s architects and builders for its durability, longevity, (they can last 100 years or more) and beauty. As a natural stone, slate is an eco-friendly material and a sustainable choice. And, unlike some roofing materials, slate does not catch fire easily which adds a layer of safety to homes.
We often replace these old slate roofs with new slate tile roofs destined to last another 100 years. This is true, historic roofing at its finest. Often we use Spanish black slate tiles on customer projects. The tiles do not fade or weather and remain true to their deep blue-black color and smooth surface. There are other origin locations and colors of quarried slate found elsewhere around the globe.
Challenges
One home we worked on, near Dupont Circle, had many challenges. Jim and Mark had lived in their beautiful, historic home for many years. Their corner residence is as large as an apartment building and is an older structure (circa 1880’s) with many external design features. They had been challenged for years about how to deal with their porous, leaking roofs, skylights and gutters. There was extensive internal damage to the ceilings and walls. It was clear this would be a huge restoration project. They called it “The Project of a Lifetime” and I couldn’t have agreed more! The decision was made to have us do what was necessary to restore the roof and related structures to their original state using natural and historic materials such as slate and copper. Before we could begin the project, we had to obtain multiple permits and set up scaffolding around the entire structure on S St. and the adjacent street. It took nearly a week just to install the scaffolding. In the end, the project took nearly three months and included new slate turret and mansard roofs, several new copper roofs and a membrane roof on the main structure. The work substantially increased the value of the home and truly tested our project management skills!
I hope to continue doing our part for many years to assist Capitol Hill homeowners to restore their historic properties whenever they need our help. We know these properties and the roofing types and materials and are always in the neighborhood.
Tom Daniel is the owner of R. Thomas Daniel Roofing, LLC and is the third generation of the Daniel family to provide roofing services to thousands of Capitol Hill homeowners for nearly 100 years. He can be reached at 202-569-1080 or tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com.
