Mark Ancaster

We bought our house in the Dundas Valley near Hamilton, Ontario in January 2008. It is a beautifully situated cape cod home backing on to the noted Bruce Trail. A stream flows gently just outside the living room window. The house drew our attention not only because of its proximity to a limitless variety of trails and escarpment terrain but because of the care that had been put into its design and placement. We also thought, in our innocence, that a fine feature was the cedar shake roofing that had a charming layer of moss on a good-sized portion of the flatter sections.
As it turned out the roofing was the one aspect of the home that had seen the end of its days. After a particularly wet summer, we realized that the moss was, in fact, evil and that the roof was at the end of its days. Given how much we loved the house, we decided that--no matter what--we were going to do the roof right. We wanted an environmentally responsible, elegant, permanent roofing solution. Once we did the roof, we never wanted to do anything but admire it ever again. We quickly dismissed cedar as an option. The amount of shade and moisture in our area would have led to continuing problem. Shingles seemed lame given the picture we had in mind and permanence we required. What we really wanted was slate. Or, even better, synthetic slate. Research on the Web led us quickly to Authentic Roof. A phone call the manufacturer left us amazed at the wealth of information they were willing to share. Not knowing all that much about roofing, it was a huge relief to be able to talk to someone with the patience and knowledge to walk us through the options. We even went so far as to ask for the names of a number of contractors they recommended. The three contractor options we were given provided us quotes quickly and honestly.
It was easy to commit to Authentic Roof. And the contractors we chose turned out to be the most professional, thorough and careful group of hard workers you could hope for. Our roof is 55 square. They ripped off and disposed of all the old cedar and installed the new, spectacular Authentic Roof tiles in 5 days (with a crew of seven). The transformation has been amazing. The roof looks like it has always been slate, but it looks perfect. The material fits the setting so well. It's still quite new to us and we still can't help but just stare at it.

Mark
Ancaster, Ontario. Canada