It began with a slate roof craftsmen named Peter Craig
Back at the end of the 1970’s after deferring uni, I was doing a roof tiling apprenticeship with CSR Wunderlich and attending trade school. One of the teachers there was a hard nosed tough old scotsman named Peter Craig. Well, I hate to admit it, but over the next few months we clashed heads many times over what or what about I have no idea now. This seemed to go on for a while until one day, as often happens, it suddenly struck me – “this old blokes alright” – “he speaks his mind, doesn’t mince his words, I like him”. He must have thought the same thing as not long after that he asked if I would like to give him a hand, on the weekend, on a slate roof restoration that he was doing on an old home.
The next eight years we repaired, renovated or renewed many old slate roofs
For the next eight years we spent nearly every Saturday,Sunday and public holiday working on the slate roofs of many of Melbourne’s finest period homes. During the week he continued to teach at trade school and I continued re-roofing homes with terracotta and concrete tiles.
I learnt the trade from a true master roof slater.
Before coming to Australia, Peter had spent his entire working life as a master slater in Aberdeen and Dundee in Scotland. He was a fantastic teacher when he knew I was eager and keen to learn. He taught and showed me the different types of slate around Melbourne. What these slates were called, where they came from and their unique characteristics. He taught me how to repair slate roofs properly, when to restore them or when they needed to be replaced. He showed me many,many little trade tips and tricks that can only be learned from experience and never from books or trade schools. Those eight years were a great period in my life – lots of hard work, long days, and most importantly loads of fun – he was never short of a good joke or belly laugh.
About Abardeen Roof Slating and Tiling Today
Today I have a small crew of qualified and experienced roof slaters to carry out any slate roof problem you may have. The slate work we carry out on your roof is always done with a view of retaining the integrity of the roof and your home. A successful job to Abardeen Roof Slating is when the slate roof works on your home are completed and the original character of your home remains.
