74 | CONTRACTING James Herdman Roofing T T Hugh de Lacy Continuing the legacy with slate tiles Working on the post-quake renovation of the heritage-listed Christchurch Arts Centre, was a major project for the company. Long before there was corrugated iron, there was slate roofing, and James Herdman has made a career of the ancient craft since he left school in England in 1979 and, in a win for this country’s historic buildings, came to New Zealand in 2005. That was half a decade before central Christchurch was almost flattened by the 2010-2011 earthquakes, making the demand for James Herdman Roofing’s services all the more urgent. He was already busy doing routine maintenance on slate, clay tile and lead work, but things took off with a vengeance when the quakes destroyed or severely damaged many of Christchurch’s legacy colonial buildings, including the iconic Christ Church Cathedral and the Arts Centre. The re-slating of the cathedral roof was one of James’ earliest jobs in New Zealand, though the quakes were to see that work destroyed. Thereafter, he was flat out re-roofing about 90% of the city’s heritage buildings, including seven years as preferred roofing contractor on the restoration of the Arts Centre. This earned the endorsement of Leighs Construction commercial lead, Shaun Towbridge, who praised James’ team for its “expert knowledge and high-calibre craftsmanship”. James’ entire career has been centred round historic buildings: English-born, after leaving school he worked for heritage roofing contractor William Heppel in Consett County Durham for seven years, before taking up a subcontracting role there for John Flowers for two more years. “I worked on many roofs for historic English buildings in the northeast, including manor houses and castles, the oldest one being Auckland Castle, the principal residence of the Bishops of Durham for nearly a thousand years, where we re-roofed the lead valleys on the great hall,” James says. “When I first moved to New Zealand I worked in Queenstown for a couple of months before shifting up to Christchurch and starting my own company. “In 2007, I employed Isaac Hohapata, who has worked with me ever since, and is now a partner in the company, working on houses using slate tiles and cedar shingles. “The Arts Centre roof, the largest heritage renovation in the Southern hemisphere at the time, was a major project, and made us the go-to company for any job involving slate and clay tiles, and lead gutters and valleys. “Other projects we worked on included the Mona Vale homestead with clay tiles, the Nurses’ Chapel next to Christchurch Hospital – cedar shingles – the Sign of the Takahe restaurant with Glendyne slate, and Lincoln University’s Ivy Hall, among others. To deliver those projects we imported 10 tonnes of lead for gutters and valleys.” James Herdman Roofing topped that off with the re-roofing of the 1300sqm James Herdman Roo ng Ltd is proud to support Friends of the Chapel Nurses Memorial Trust Slate Cedar Shingle Clay Tiles Lead Welding James Herdman Roo ng Ltd is proud to support Friends of the Chapel Nurses Memorial Trust Heritage Roofer Specialising In: Get In Touch Your local Slate and cedar shingle roofing company in Christchurch. Proud to be the sole supplier of Glendyne Slates in New Zealand. 021 405 567 | 021 405 569 herdmanroofing@gmail.com Christchurch Boys’ High School building with Glendyne slate and clay ridges. Anoth r of James’ recent projects was the restoration of the 6.5-tonne spire on the Boys’ High building in the Arts Centre For nine years, James imported slate from the United Kingdom and Canada on a jobby-job basis, but earlier this year he began importing Glendyne slate on his own account, stocking large amounts of it, along with fixings and underlay, at his yard in Rolleston. Glendyne Natural Slate is a premium Canadian product known for its durability, aesthetic appeal and performance in challenging climates and, though his company imports it, it’s not the only slate it uses. “Our next job is re-roofing Turnbull House in Wellington with new Welsh slate,” James says. For the past 10 years, James Herdman Roofing has partnered with Burton Roofing Merchants in providing heritage, slate and shingle roofing. “It’s an enduring collaboration, based on a commitment to quality, meticulous attention to detail, and a passion for preserving New Zealand’s heritage buildings.”
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