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Landmark Residence - Built 18627,200 slates,
7,200 slates,
laid by
hand.
Crown restored the slate-and-copper roof of an 1862 Brookline landmark, the former home of U.S. Representative John W. Candler, matching the original materials course for course.
- Location
- 99 High Street, Brookline
- Building
- Historic residence, built 1862
- Scope
- Full slate and copper restoration
- Duration
- Three months on site
The ChallengeA century
A century
and a half
of weather.
The original slate and copper had protected 99 High Street for over 160 years. By the time Crown arrived, the roof needed full restoration without losing the craftsmanship that made it a landmark.
Starting conditions
Built in 1862 for U.S. Representative John W. Candler, the home carries the intricate slate roofline and copper turret of its era.
Restoring it meant sourcing matching slate, refabricating copper to the original profiles, and keeping every architectural detail intact - not swapping it for anything modern.
The ApproachHow Crown
How Crown
built it.
Documented, sequenced, and largely self-performed. Here is how the work came together on site.
- 01
Match the slate
Over 7,200 slates were selected to match the original by color, size, and thickness, then set course by course to the historic pattern.
- 02
Refabricate the copper
More than 2,600 square feet of copper was formed to the roof's original features, including the turret's custom curved pieces, fabricated on site.
- 03
Hand-nail every course
Over 20,000 copper nails were driven by hand, each one securing slate and copper to stand up to another century of New England weather.
- 04
Finish in-house
Nearly all of the copper work was completed by Crown's own crew, start to finish, with no detail subcontracted out.
The ResultSet for the
Set for the
next
century.
99 High Street stands restored, protected for another century and still telling the story of its original owner.
0+Slates laid by hand
0 sq ftCopper formed on site
0+Copper nails, hand-driven
3 moOn site
- Slate roof rebuilt to the 1862 pattern; over 28,000 pounds set, color, size, and thickness matched.
- Copper turret and features refabricated on site to the original profiles.
- More than 20,000 copper nails driven by hand to last the next century.
- Nearly all metalwork completed in-house by Crown's own coppersmiths.
Slate and copper, done right.
Restoration is Crown's craft. If your building carries a historic slate or copper roof, see how we keep it watertight for another century.
Free EstimateHave a roof
Have a roof
like this?
Tell us about your building and what it needs. We will schedule a no-obligation assessment and walk you through what restoration or replacement actually involves - with no pressure to over-build.