Composite Slate Roofing Helps Chapel Soar
Day or night, the chapel at Central Community Church in Wichita is a beautiful architectural site. Soaring 50-feet into the sky, with a composite slate roof overhead, the chapel embraces people with its warm design.
Small Yet Inviting
Built in 2019, the chapel was specifically created to hold up to 250 people. This space was designed to provide a more intimate setting for events overwhelmed by the church’s 2,700-seat sanctuary.
“The chapel is used for celebration of life services,” says John Wright, facilities director with Central Community Church in Wichita, Kansas. “We host weddings, small concerts, Sunday school classes, bible study and small group meetings in this setting. Even though it’s significantly smaller than our sanctuary, you still get an expansive feeling when you’re inside.”
Photo Credit: Randy Tobias Photography
Creating with a Vision
To design this unique setting, the church called on Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture. The resulting building boasts Romaneque-style proportions. The 50-foot tall chapel is 1.3 times greater in height than its width, which conveys a sense of upward movement.
“We created this roof with a 12:12 slope,” says Greg Tice, AIA, partner in Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture. “We wanted the design of the roof to make a statement and provide a sense of protection. When it came time to specify the roofing product, we knew it had to be DaVinci Multi-Width Slate.”
Tice relates that his team has specified DaVinci products for other churches and projects in the past with great success.
“The DaVinci composite slate has a good aesthetic look,” says Tice. “This is a durable and lightweight product. It gives the authentic look of slate without the weight or expense of natural slate. For this chapel project, where the roof has a strong visual impact on the structure’s design, we knew DaVinci was the best choice.”
Dependable Composite Slate
Made in Kansas, DaVinci Multi-Width Slate tiles are a full ½-inch in thickness. Modeled from actual slate, the composite tiles provide natural, non-repeating beauty to both residential and commercial projects. In addition, the DaVinci products resist fading, rotting, cracking and insects.
According to Tice, the church’s building committee likes the sturdiness of the DaVinci roof over other options.
“The 12:12 slope is steep, and the church did not want to deal with maintenance or replacement issues for as long as possible,” says Tice. “With the DaVinci roof, the church doesn’t need to worry about severe weather, impact from hail or everyday maintenance. This is a dependable roof that looks like slate without the expense or concerns associated with real slate.”
Dedicated Roofers
Photo Credit: Randy Tobias Photography
When it came time to install the Slate Gray composite roofing tiles, the project’s general contractor, Conco Construction, selected Farha Roofing. The roofing installation lasted for seven months.
“We needed large equipment to load materials on the roof and do the installation,” says Bob Ireland, commercial estimator/project manager with Farha Roofing LLC. “We’re talking about a structure that is more than six stories high at its peak. We had to be extremely careful throughout the entire installation process.”
Along with the DaVinci roofing materials, the Farha Roofing team also installed custom sheet metal at the roof edges. After that, they put 10-inch box gutters with custom downspouts on the structure. Unique window trim and flashing were also added.
Above all, Rocky Mountain ST11 Snow Guards were installed uniformly around the entire chapel structure. The snow guards break up snow as it melts off the roof to help prevent avalanching during severe winter weather.
Impressive Faux Slate
Now that it’s complete, the chapel shines day and night … and it stands up to Mother Nature.
“I’m personally very impressed with the faux slate,” says Wright. “It appears extremely realistic and accents the structure well.
“So far the roof has dealt beautifully with extremely windy conditions. In Kansas we can expect this structure will have to survive many hail storms in the future. It gives me peace-of-mind having the DaVinci roofing on the chapel.”