Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Underhill.
Tim, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born in Wales-the land of slate-I took off as quick as I could and followed my future wife to Maine. There I lived as a musician, foot-loose and fancy-free. By no fault of my own, I landed up (1984) in Baltimore, where I found a good bar and fell in with a crowd of mid-western wood-heads. After doing construction for a while I landed up on a slate roof, on my feet and strangely knew what to do! Slate was intriguing! That was 40 years ago!
I formed Roof Restoration and learned the trade, mostly from the old-school Baltimore roofers-Bob Gummer, Bernie Frist, Archie from Eckhardt Roofing. Mostly I learned by copying what was on the roof already: flashings on chimneys, valleys, vent pipes, learned styles of slate roofing such as mingled thickness, hanging butt, variated, graduated and crazy slate (yes that’s a type of slate). I worked for a number of other companies for a short period of time, ran away to become a piano technician for ten years, then formed Delta Slate Co. I worked for the National Slate Association for a few years as Executive Director, and became intrigued once again. This time I put a team together (JR, Juice, Fluffy and Charlie). They are younger, stronger and probably better than I ever was. Plus good humans to spend your work day with.
We have a great customer base, some Ive known since the 80’s, or if not I know their roofs since then! It’s a tough but honest job that provides us all with a living. No complaints!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We are a rough but pretty close knit group. This is a great work situation. We know a lot of other slaters in town, some of whom have died from falls, some famous for the wrong reasons. There is a camaraderie of sorts. We never fail to give the finger to passing roofing trucks.
The constant challenge is the weather. It is inevitably too hot, too cold, raining. Always something. Then you’re 40-ft in the air, balancing on a narrow board, leaning awkwardly into the roof, all the time doing very skilled and detailed work. And God forbid you screw up! So physically bruising. Your knees go first, then your lower back. Your hands become gnarled and misshapen, cut and calloused. Roofers seem to go for religion or a bottle. I prefer the latter. Maybe the former when I hang it up.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
There are many levels of roofing. Slate just stops you in your steps. What is this piece of rock you wonder, and how do I chip it into a shape for use. There’s the myopic experience: striations, gleaming specs of mica, veins of pyrites, knurls and knots that beg an explanation. Every piece is handled and studied repeatedly, each one a miracle from the Cambrian or Ordovician periods, more than 500 million years ago.
Then there’s the big picture: the roof is your canvas and every placed slate a piece of your artisnal picture. At the end of the day you can’t help but study it, remembering individual pieces-some that defied every effort to be seated, some that fitted magically. It’s like an affair. The anticipation, the excitement, finally too hot not to cool down! And secrets.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Baltimore is rough and tumble. This is what I like. The only thing not to like is that “good help is SO hard to find!!!’
Contact Info:
- Website: https://deltaslate.com
