Headquartered in Slatington, Pennsylvania since 1934, PBBS mines and manufactures slate products, and distributes slate products from other North American quarries. It also imports slate products when needed. Our products are used in roofing, construction, and architectural applications such as windowsills, countertops, mantles, lavatories, fireplaces, floor tiles, and numerous other applications. We also make a wide variety of slate for turkey calls and craft slate. Slate has endured as one of the most desired products for architectural and custom design work.
Penn Big Bed Slate Company had been a family owned enterprise since its founding in 1934 by Jacob Papay and his four sons John, Tom, Mike, Steve and his son-in-law Steve Babyak. Today Pete Papay Sr. and his son Pete Papay Jr. are the 3rd and 4th generation quarriers. In 2005 Penn Big Bed merged with The Dally Slate Company of Pen Argyl. The management team today is Peter J. Papay Sr., Peter J. Papay Jr., Erik Eitner and John Dally Jr. Today PBBS is truly the source of high quality Pennsylvania slate, with manufacturing facilities capable of producing virtually any type of architectural slate product, or products which make use of slate.
Slate is the finest roofing material you can buy, with longevity exceeding a hundred years, and unmatched beauty. A home roofed in slate is always a distinguished home, showing the pride and good taste of its owner. A good part of that comes from the skilled hand craftsmanship that accompanies every aspect of the production of a slate roof, from making a slate shingle, to laying the roof itself. A good slate, as a shingle is called, will have knots, knurls and texture that are unique, even compared to another slate that came from the same block of stone.
Countertops and vanity tops can be clear or ribbon grade, and supplied in honed, sand rubbed or natural cleft. The most common thicknessis 1" or 1 1/4". It can be made in 1 1/2" or 2" thick to your preference. Choices are several in designing your tops:rounded corners, notches, edges, drop insinks or under mounts, drain boards, faucet locations and drop instoves. For more information please click on Slate Finishes. Templates may be required to make shapes and to insure the sink location with the plumbing in mind.
Flooring tiles are usually fabricated from clear slate, but can be made from ribbon slate as well, for a highly decorative effect. Flooring tiles and patio pavers are typically made from natural cleft slate, which provides inherent slippage prevention. Useful both indoors and out, flooring can also be made in any finish, usually in sizes of 6"x6" up to 24"x24", and thicknesses of 1/4" to 1".Tiles are gauged to thickness. Patterns are available - contact us for more information.
Penn Big Bed Slate, or PBBS, mines the highest quality Pennsylvania clear and ribbon slate from our own quarries, and fabricates that slate into a vast array of products from slate roofing shingles to architectural products and even into turkey calls used by hunters to lure their prey. Slate can be considered the most versatile of all stone or rock types in having such a wide range of uses (no one puts marble or granite shingles on their roof.) Because slate has the unique property of all rocks in being able to be sheared into thin sheets when freshly quarried, natural cleft slate can be used to make beautiful and unique furniture, such as table tops, while our other finishes such as honed, sand finish and stippled provide a myriad of choices.
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