Olde World Slate Service LLC

The work David's crew performed and completed is simply beautiful. The team was communicative, respectful, and professional at all times. I couldn't imagine anyone else taking care of our slate roof and gutters. We are so appreciative of David's honesty, integrity, and workmanship!

Extremely well. Company and its people are a pleasure to deal with. On time, courteous, helpful and I will definitely call on them again when roof repairs are needed.

Olde World did a terrific job in all areas of roof on a somewhat old difficult slate roof. From completely replacing the lower lever and repairing the upper level. They did exactly what they said they would do(no surprises) in our agreement and in a timely, professional manner. Excellent communication from office and crew left my house and property in better shape than when they arrived.

Historic roofs have specialized needs that few companies are willing to perform at a fair price. I received quotes from several competing companies and two refused to do the work given the scope of the repairs. A lot of these guys look at an old house and see dollar signs, failing to recognize that as a resident of Baltimore city, I am already fleeced by property taxes and disreputable water metering. David and his team at Olde World Slate are artisans and David in particular was focused on ways to reduce material costs while still maintain the historic integrity of the house. He even provided me with a source for the roofing tools and supplies so I could repair my garage and save on costs. Like many historic home owners, we got caught holding the bag on nearly 60 years of neglect. I would have sold the property at a loss if I hadn't found a reliable roofer that was willing to do the work without taking advantage of me and my wife financially.

Olde World Slate did a fantastic job (again) for us. Slate roofs require periodic check-ups and replacement of broken, slipped, and deteriorated slates. Our roof is 100 years old and still going strong! I was impressed with their honesty. Other well-known companies had suggested a complete tear-off for $60K, but they felt that our roof was in good shape and would only need periodic repairs of problematic slates. The slates they used match our existing ones perfectly. They started work close to the projected date of service. They left the site completely clean and finished the job in two days. They installed the new gutter and fascia we needed to correct a drainage problem we had. The estimator provided a referral for a cheaper gutter company, but we stuck with this company because they use top-of the line materials, are craftsman carpenters, and are reliable and communicative about any problems encountered. Their prices are not the lowest but totally fair given the quality and service. The office staff have been great, too! Will definitely use them again.

Outstanding. We have used David and Jessica's Team at OWSS for 10+ years and they do consistently outstanding work. OWSS uses Amish crews who are a pleasure and culturally enriching to have around. Some of the guys sing while they work -- for real. They know slate really well and don't cut corners. They know the rules and covenants for the historic neighborhoods and keep us out of trouble with homeowner's association.

Great communication & photos of work done & recommendations of additional issues found.

These men are true artisans, and all of the work they've done has been completed to the highest caliber. They have started the work on schedule and completed it within the projected time frame and cost.

Went as planned, no problems at all. I can't say how the price compared since I did not get multiple bids. They have done minor work for me before and i trust them to do the job right and our insurance company accepted the price without question.

PERFECT!!!

Could not have gone better - extremely professional, quickly done. Highest of recommendation.

We live in an established North Baltimore neighborhood where all of the homes have lots of character and slate roofs that we love and hate. The roofs are beautiful, yet they are also prone to cracks and slippage following 60+ years exposed to the elements. We completed a whole house remodel five years ago and we are very picky about who works on our property. We recently learned about Olde World Slate Service from a friend who is a real estate agent. This is perhaps the single best referral I've received in a lifetime. The entire Olde World Slate Service team is exceptional!... from David in the field, to Jessica in the office, to the crew who performed the work on our roof today. Customer service is clearly a top priority for this organization. Since my initial call to schedule an estimate, I have been treated respectfully with each interaction. David conducted the first visit and walked around the house with me to hear my concerns and to share his recommendations for an approach to problems with our 60 year-old slate roof. He provided options that were practical and technically sound. The proposal I received was clearly stated in straightforward terms at a fair price. There was no guesswork, and I had no hesitation in accepting it. I was very comfortable with the price based on previous experience with another slate repair company in the city. Upon returning the signed proposal, Jessica was in touch with me to schedule the work and she explained exactly what to expect. As she promised, a crew of five professionals arrived punctually on the appointed day and time. They conducted themselves with precision and they showed care for our home and landscape. They were onsite working diligently for nearly 6 hours and they barely disturbed me or my neighbors. Before leaving the job site, the crew went around the entire house and picked up every piece of fallen slate and nails--they left things in better shape than they found them on arrival. Once finishing the job, the foreman came to the door to let me know the work was done and asked if I had any questions. I have been so impressed by the level of service that everyone demonstrates within this company. It is truly exceptional to find this level of craftsmanship, pride, professionalism and customer service in the current business climate... and I am now a lifelong customer as a result. I enthusiastically recommend Olde World Slate Service for your roofing needs.

Olde World was fantastic. They were prompt, professional, fair & detailed about the estimate, & they started & ended work on schedule. The roofers are craftsmen. They worked quickly and cleaned everything up each day. The photos were helpful in showing what needed repair & a completed job well done. I couldn't have asked for a better experience & wouldn't hesitate to recommend! We also had a great experience with the carpenter they recommended to replace deteriorating front porch columns, Dennis Ciesla. We had gotten bids from Fick and Roland Slate, who had told us we needed to replace the entire roof, a 60K project. David VanLaningham explained that our roof was in very good shape for its age and only needed repair of deteriorated and slipped slates as well as flashing work. So happy with the results and will definitely use them again in the future!

I would recommend them. They were very good. I would use them again. They have fair price and high quality work. They were punctual and they have good clean up. Everything was top quality about them I think. They are pretty busy so scheduling could be tough but they did respond very quickly.

They took pictures of the roof before and after they did the job to show what they did. They were professional. I would recommend them to anyone. Three people came out to do the work. Scheduling went just as expected and I was 100% satisfied with the work.

Olde World Slate Service did an exceptional job of explaining what was needed (and the timeliness required) and how they would go about repairing/replacing items. David suggested reading and quot;The Slate Roof Bibleand quot; by Joseph Jenkins to learn more about slate roofs. He also advised having a mason look at the chimney as that is not their area of expertise. Olde World Slate Service was quick to schedule a time to inspect the roof and chimney, and promptly provided a quote (the next day).
The quote separated the work into and quot;Houseand quot;, and quot;Chimneyand quot; and and quot;Garageand quot;. The quote also included additional options to 1) reseal all main roof peaks and nail heads on the house 2) to repair/replace slate tiles on the garage roof (and reseal the garage roof peak and nail heads) and 3) to install new copper ridge rolls along all the main roof peaks. These options were an additional $3600.
I opted to focus on the and quot;Houseand quot; and the and quot;Chimneyand quot; and to defer the options and and quot;Garageand quot; work (based on their recommended priority).
Since the work cost more than I could afford at one time, they broke it down into 3 separate quotes and we have spaced the work out evenly over the year (note: I also received quotes from two other popular roofers in the Homeland neighborhood and Olde World Slate was the most reasonable). The quote was received in January 2013 and work has been completed quarterly during the year, with their most recent visit in September.
Communication with the office is wonderful. Fast, efficient, courteous and creative in helping you find solutions to help you decide how to prioritize the work such that it lines up with your budget.
Each time work is completed, I receive photographs of the before and after. Their cleanup is immaculate (you would never know they had been there).
Top of the line quality - I intend to keep Olde World Slate for my annual maintenance and highly recommend them to others with slate roofs.

I love them and I thought they were great. The work was beautiful and I will use them again in the future.

Olde World Slate Service LLC are above board, they provide you pictures, they show up when they say they will, they stay on the job until it's finished, they offer a free annual inspection, and they're not cheap but it's a fair price. Their quality and personal service stands out to me.

We got estimates from 5 roofers and they were all over the map in terms of what work and quot;neededand quot; to be done and cost. Some were from companies with and quot;the bestand quot; reputations for slate roofers in our area. Several of and quot;the bestand quot; companies didn't even get up on the roof to assess the problem. Olde World got up on the roof, and took pictures to show us what was wrong and what they'd do to replace it. They gave me several options in the estimate. They were priced under the other estimates. We had to wait for them because they had so much work. Then a big storm was coming and I was worried about more leaking, but before I could even call to ask if there was a way to protect it during the storm, they came and fixed the active leak portion of the job. We didn't have a drop during the storm. Then they came back and did the rest of the job. it was great.

Olde World Slate was fabulous from start to finish. On his initial visit, David went into great detail about the condition of the roof and offered a great deal of useful advice. The estimate was much the lowest we received (out of four). The work was done in a timely way by careful, conscientious workmen. David was in constant communication during performance of the work. And all transactions were conducted with the utmost integrity. Olde World Slate is commendable for its absolute honesty in a business where many companies will attempt to cheat or mislead.

Because you can't really see it, no home-maintenance issue is harder to understand truly than a roof. And no roof is harder to understand than a slate one.
David VanLaningham arrived as promised and explained first what we have in a slate roof; then he gave us various options for how to proceed--from replacing what we have to making minor repairs to making more involved repairs. He was very knowledgeable; he builds trust through his obvious understanding and enthusiasm about doing not only a good job but the right job (meaning, the one we could afford that would satisfy basic needs first).
We reviewed his analysis (based on his two-hour inspection of our roof--house and garage) and decided that we could not afford to replace the roof at this time. We discussed lower-cost options with him and agreed on a plan that would satisfy our most pressing current needs.
His contract was thorough and understandable.
His price was fair, based on several other estimates we got from other providers approved on Angie's List. The most important difference between Olde World Slate and the others was that David took the time to really examine our roof, communicate clearly with us, and provide options that we could afford.
His crew arrived as promised and performed all contracted services. The way they worked (steadily and carefully, leaving no mess) was an extension of what we had come to expect based on our conversations with Mr. VanLaningham.
We were MORE THAN JUST PLEASED with their overall service. We will definitely use Olde World Slate in the future for all of our roofing and gutter needs. We recommend this company 100% and without reservation to anyone with a roofing issue, but especially a slate roof, and especially an older one.
They will do what they say they will do and do it well.

David Vanlaningham, the owner, came out to do the initial inspection and estimate at the end of July. He was very, very knowledgeable, professional and polite. He answered all of our questions and took photographs of the damaged areas of my sunroom roof during that first visit. (We later had David come back and do a complete inspection of the rest of our roof (with photographs) and formulate a maintenance list for the future.). While we were having exterior painting done, the painters discovered a large area of rotten wood and an internal gutter that was disintegrating and allowing water penetration into the under roof wood. It was one of our painters who recommended David to us. David and his employees did a superb job with their repairs of wood and metal. They also replaced a few slates on our house's main roof. David is very knowledgeable about the different types of slate used in our region--the degrees of quality and lifespan of each type. When writing our work estimate, David worked with us to come up with a plan that fit our budget and time frame. He is very ethical and does not recommend unnecessary work or materials. When recommending a more expensive solution, he explained his reasons clearly. Due to the company being busy, the actual work did not occur until two weeks after we received the estimate. The carpenters and roofers were always on time, professional, meticulous and cleaned up when the job was done. Over the weekend, rain was forecast and they made sure to leave a tarp to protect us from any water leaks. After the job was done, David came back to our house to answer any questions or concerns we might have. And when we asked him to come up with a future plan to maintain our roof, David came back in person to go over everything. We have been very happy working with him and his company and will continue to use Olde World Slate.

Workers showed up on time in the morning and finished quickly. Aside from the normal dust associated with roof work, it was a very clean job. They were finished by the time we got home that day. I had a question about the tiles, and the owner personally came to look at the roof and answer my questions. From start to finish, I have to say that it was a pleasure to deal with David and his team. The estimate was reasonable, and he was honest that not all of it needed to be done immediately. At my request, he gave me a plan of action for the next three years to spread out the costs. There was no hard sell for a yearly maintenance contract, and he takes pictures and is very customer focused. I highly recommend this company. I will be calling them next year for more work.

The workmen were very organized, efficient, courteous, and neat.

Top notch service and work. Advised me of the specific type of slate that me roof contains (Pennsylvania Chapman), which no other roofer has ever done. Also pointed out the different types and grades of slate that have been used by other firms to repair my roof. Was VERY knowledgeable and professional. Referred me to the "Slate Roof Bible" by Joseph Jenkins to educate me on the various types of slate in use. Took about 10 weeks from the time I signed the contract until the work was done - which was exactly what he had said up front. It was worth the wait.