Repairnig Slate Sidewalks
The city has sent several people on our block notices to repair our sidewalks. Some of us want use slate. Has anyone had their sidewalks repaired using slate and can anyone recommend a contractor.
The city has sent several people on our block notices to repair our sidewalks. Some of us want use slate. Has anyone had their sidewalks repaired using slate and can anyone recommend a contractor.
I had a guy named Buscarello do mine a few years back when Allstate threatened to cancel my insurance on our just-purchased house because of trip hazards or something ridiculous like that. He did a great job, but dumb me told him our situation and I have a strong feeling that he gouged us by about 30-40%. Definitely make sure he gives you a good price. Haggle him hard. Just search John Buscarello in Brooklyn for the number.
These sidewalks are not slate. They are Bluestone, a very durable and very expensive material. Most are over 100 years old and historic neighborhoods clamor to keep them in front of the houses. You must not let the city take these. We had our street torn up one year and the contractor for the city tried to take all the bluestone sidewalks on our block. We insisted they restore them. Do not ever give these away, they are expensive. Do everything you can to keep them!!! The have lasted this long and will continue to serve as a durable walk.
J & L Landscaping on Caton has repaired ours; they’ll piece together broken/cracked slabs when possible and they replaced where necessary. Did a fine job.
the appropriate comment line is BELOW the body of the posting — perhaps you are clicking on the wrong comment link.
Alot of people make this mistake btw
i’m puzzled as to when i click on the comments, i get the previous message and not the one i clicked on. any help out there??
Try any of the masonry/cement/rebrownstoning contractors. The issue isn’t who can do it for you; the issue is finding old slate in good condition. Almost all the new slate currently being quarried is too thin. You can see in the West Village where many recently redone sidewalks are already flaking and cracked. We paid $1,500 3 years ago to have our sidewalk relaid — that was just the labor. We were lucky with the slate. After a small storefront church in our neighborhood decided to replace their slate sidewalk with concrete, we — along with a neighbor — paid to take away the stone. Recyling is pretty much the only way to go and it’s kinda happenstance whether you can find a source of old slate.
I’m puzzled by Ken’s response.
I love the slate in front of my house and have no problem with it in the winter. To the contrary — and I find cement needs to be repaired/replaced every decade or so. I’m guessing the slate I have has been there for a hundred years!
I guess there’s no real *repairing* it, but it would take a force of nature to damage it once it’s down – do you have big tree roots or something?
I’d check out salvage places for material.
Additionally, there’s a stone/marble place on 3rd St just over the canal, past the radiator place, on the Cobble Hill side of things, and another place on 19th St at 2nd/3rd aves behind home depot/jetro. I have not actually used either of them yet, but I’m doing the research for kitchen counters.
I haven’t used slate, but… it’s VERY expensive to repair, let alone put down new. While it may look nice, it’s a real pain-in-the-neck to maintain, not to mention trying to shovel it during the winter. Think twice before you do this.