JUSTEN NEWTON
The Blue Collar Scholar
Roofing for downtown's rhyolite and brick, and the historic buildings around the depot. Castle Rock and the Front Range, and landmark roofs nationwide, outside Florida and Alabama.
Request a free inspection See the work
Free inspections·239‑791‑0646
Serving Castle Rock·Denver Metro & Front Range
Castle Rock's downtown runs on rhyolite quarried from the same rock formation the town is named for, with brick Victorians filling in the rest of the historic core. It's a smaller footprint than Denver's older neighborhoods, but the same century of roofing decisions sits on top of it.
Stone construction and brick both hide roofing problems well, right up until they don't. The standard doesn't change because the walls are rhyolite instead of brick — match the material on top, respect the headlap, and do the ugly work before the pretty work goes back on.
The Castle Rock Depot is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: National Park Service (opens in a new tab)Castle Rock requires a building permit before a roof is replaced, and permits expire if no inspection is completed within 180 days.
Source: Town of Castle Rock (opens in a new tab)NOAA's Storm Events Database lists six reports of hail 1 inch or larger within two miles of its Castle Rock reference point, January 2019 through June 2026. The largest was 1.75-inch hail on June 8, 2019.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 818499 (opens in a new tab)| Date | Hail | Distance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 19, 2021 | 1.00 in | 0.87 mi | NOAA NCEI event 978650 |
| June 5, 2021 | 1.00 in | 1.27 mi | NOAA NCEI event 953685 |
| June 26, 2020 | 1.25 in | 1.27 mi | NOAA NCEI event 890781 |
| June 8, 2019 | 1.75 in | 1.75 mi | NOAA NCEI event 818511 |
| June 8, 2019 | 1.75 in | 1.75 mi | NOAA NCEI event 818499 |
| June 8, 2019 | 1.00 in | 0.87 mi | NOAA NCEI event 818495 |
Showing all 6 reports of 1 inch or larger within two miles, 2019 to 2026.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events database. Reports lag about three months.
Custom Ludowici clay, hand-slushed with battered butts — 128 squares in a three-color blend, full restoration in Denver. Completed with Precision Construction and Roofing.
Full tear-off and re-deck — 2,500 squares of Boral Tejas España tile, battens and field reinstalled across the complex. Completed with Precision Construction and Roofing.
DaVinci slate in a black-and-grey blend — 396 squares total, custom copper-and-lead turret work on a full replacement. Completed with Precision Construction and Roofing.
Free inspections·A written scope·No pressure on the porch
One standard, whether it is a courthouse, a church or a house. Documented, preserved, and put back better than the archives remember it.
Fired clay that outlives its warranty by a century. Matched, milled, and hung by hands that know every profile in the catalog.
Stone laid to shed water for a hundred years. Cut, hung, and headlapped like it has to prove it every day.
The dangerous work nobody photographs. Brought down under negative air by certified crews — contained, cleared, and manifested — so the beautiful work can begin.
Walk the roof, then the walls: rhyolite and brick hide what is happening above them. Record pitch, headlap, fastener type and valley metal in writing and photos, before the permit application and before any tear-off.
Protect the building the moment the old roof opens. Temporary cover keeps weather off the interior while salvage and staging run, and the 180-day permit clock keeps the schedule honest.
Keep what is sound. Specify clay or slate to match color, profile and thickness against the historic core, so the repair disappears against the same stone the town is named for.
Slate on copper, headlap sized to the pitch, ice-and-water shield at eaves and valleys. Inspections are scheduled inside the window the town gives, not at the end of it.
A clean manifest, photos, inspection record and warranty paperwork where it applies. The file shows what was found under the old roof, for whoever owns the building next.
A rhyolite-stone building in downtown Castle Rock carries the same slate lesson as anywhere else: the stone was always going to last a hundred years, but only if the fasteners and flashing underneath were given the same chance. A rusted nail doesn't care what the walls are made of.
Brick Victorians around Castle Rock's historic core that carry clay tile deserve the exact profile match — not the nearest thing on a pallet. Salvage graded and re-laid where it shows, new material blended through so the repair disappears against the same stone the town is named for.
Downtown Castle Rock's stone and brick buildings hide the same unglamorous truth as any century roof: decking and underlayment decide the outcome, not the material on top. Skip the ugly work and the rhyolite walls will outlast the roof that was supposed to protect them.
“The archives remember what the roof looked like. My job is to make the roof agree.”
— Justen Newton
The pretty part is the clay. The century is everything underneath it. Walk the layers.
Downtown Castle Rock's rhyolite has stood for generations, and a Ludowici clay or slate roof is built to keep pace. What fails first is not the roofing: it is the fasteners, flashing and underlayment out of sight under it. Get those right and the roof matches the walls.
Yes. Ludowici's catalog and graded salvage drive the match. On the brick Victorians in the historic core, the exact profile is specified, sound salvage goes back where it shows, and new fired clay is blended through, so the repair sits quietly against the stone.
Repair first. Stone and brick walls hide roofing problems well, and slate rarely fails as stone; it fails at the nail, the headlap and the valley. Fix those and the roof keeps going. Replacement is the last resort, never the opening bid.
On older buildings, sometimes. Transite and older membranes have to come off under negative air, with certified crews and a clean manifest, before the new roof starts. Whatever the scope, the town's permit rules apply.
Yes. Castle Rock's downtown sits on rhyolite quarried from the formation the town is named for, and the Depot is individually listed on the National Register. The town wants a building permit before a roof is replaced, and it expires if no inspection is completed within 180 days, so the schedule is built around that.
Steep-slope craftsman. Historic clay and slate. One standard, whether it is a courthouse, a church or a house.
Seventeen years on landmark roofs. Roofing work nationwide, outside Florida and Alabama. Ludowici clay, premium slate, and asbestos abatement handled by the book. When the roof carries the building’s story, the work travels.
Pick the closest match. The inquiry form fills in the roof for you.
Selected: . Go to the form
Tell Justen what you are seeing. He usually calls back within one business day. The inspection is free. Next comes a site visit, then a written scope. No pressure on the porch.
Justen sells and personally runs high-end roofing jobs, usually through Precision Construction and Roofing, and consults independently.
31 points, 6 sections. Print it before the site visit, or take it to the board.
Get the checklist