Sure-footed workmen sweltered atop a Wakefield barn Wednesday as they stripped slate shingles from its roof.
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It was the third day in the delicate process of undoing the century-old work of their predecessors.
Workmen from Tindall's Virgin Timbers gingerly removed and stacked the Peach Bottom slate — once famously quarried in Delta, Pa. — for sale to restoration contractors.
CH&E Construction, 1270 Grofftown Road, will use some of the slate shingles in the Stevens and Smith Historic Site restoration in the first block of South Queen Street, just one of a number of historical renovation and restoration projects that have helped burnish the company's reputation.
Like the slate, CH&E has weathered its years well, boasting steady growth since its founding in 1981. Company President Peter C. Egan attributes this to its reputation and teamwork. The team-building started when an accountant and a lawyer advised Egan, John C. Caldwell and Jack Heckles — who had collaborated for some time — to form a partnership in 1981.
The lawyer and accountant "were business guys telling carpenters what to do," Egan chuckled.
Heckles retired in 1996. Caldwell is vice president of the company, which incorporated in 1985.
The partnership was a good match of skills, Egan said.
"John could get it done, Jack could make it fit, and I could obtain the work," he explained.
"Also we have a great crew. You never do it alone," Egan said of the company's 70 employees. "There's a spirit that everyone owns their own job."
As a result, when weather or other delays demand longer days and harder work, crews get down to business.
Treating them with respect and appreciation reinforces this culture, Egan said.
"We're not beyond sending barbecue over (to a job site) for lunch," he said. "For big jobs, we've even had pig roasts."
Social events like picnics, Christmas dinner and a trip to Raystown Lake, Huntingdon County, also breed commitment to each other and the job.
Most of CH&E's $50 million annual revenue comes from commercial construction projects. Historic renovations and restorations account for 15 percent of business, Egan estimated.
"It's a higher level of construction," Egan said. "With light commercial work, you have more materials and less work."
CH&E's jobs include the Lancaster train station renovation, which broke ground Monday, and the Lancaster County Convention Center facade stabilization.
The company has worked on historical renovations from the beginning. Its first job was restoration of a carriage house near Musser Park, Egan said.
By 1986, CH&E had completed its first million-dollar project: a 6,500-square-foot home using antique building materials and traditional wet plaster.
"That was a great opportunity for a startup company to go from a carriage house to a million-dollar project," Egan said.
Since then, CH&E has built a set of good references by "always getting the job done, providing quality service and a staff that cares about the customer," Egan said.
"Nobody hires a contractor without checking with their past jobs," he said.
The tough economy hasn't slowed growth according to Egan.
"We have a steady backlog and things look good," he said.
Jeannette Scott is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact her at jscott@lnpnews.com or at 291-8689.
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