Sixty-four years, one standard

The short history of a Boston roofing company that has spent six decades saving roofs other people wanted to replace.

1962
One truck on Dorchester Avenue
Francis Aherne, a slater's son from Galway, opens the shop with a borrowed ladder and a contract to re-slate a Pinckney Street rowhouse.
1974
The copper shop opens
A second bay is added for sheet metal. The first job is a set of soldered copper bay roofs on Commonwealth Avenue.
1988
Reclaimed slate yard
The company starts saving sound slate from every tear-off, building the salvage yard that now holds more than 40 pallets.
1999
Second generation
Maureen Aherne takes over and adds flat roofing crews for the triple-deckers of Dorchester, Southie and Jamaica Plain.
2011
Apprenticeship program
A formal four-year slate and copper apprenticeship begins. Nineteen apprentices have completed it since.
2020
Storm response crew
After a string of severe nor'easters, a dedicated storm crew with emergency tarping trucks goes on call.
2026
Four crews, one standard
Four field crews, a copper shop and a preservation coordinator serve Greater Boston, still from Dorchester Avenue.