Forget “Back to School” — it’s “Back to Roof” Time
All across the country children are getting ready to head back to school. While they concentrate on what’s inside the classroom, some roofers focus on what’s covering that classroom.
Atop the Mohawk Avenue School in Sparta, New Jersey, roofer Chris Boyd installed DaVinci Roofscapes Slate roof tiles back in 2010. Since then the polymer slate roof has withstood some severe weather and continues to look great. (See 100-Year-Old Slate Roof Replaced on NJ School)
Boasting a Class A Fire Rating and resistant to high winds and high impact, the DaVinci lightweight roofing materials were fast and easy for Boyd to install. Because of the school’s geographic location, he made sure to place snow guards around the structure to ease the potential accumulation of snow on the simulate slate roofing during winter months.
“After a snow storm, ice and snow can settle on a roof,” says Boyd, with CM Boyd Authentic Design. “When the sun eventually melts the surface snow, there’s a potential for the snow to slide collectively off the roof. The snow guards prevent large blocks of snow and ice from suddenly sliding off the roof and crashing to the ground. They help the snow melt slower, which helps keep people on the ground safer.”
Students at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Canton, New York are also used to seeing DaVinci composite slate roofs on campus. The eight buildings that create the Smith and Mohawk Residences each feature a mansard roof of DaVinci Slate roofing materials in the European Blend color that reaches from the top of the buildings down more than four stories to the lawn below. (see Towering DaVinci Roofs at SUNY)
“We’re used to working on steep slopes roofing, but nothing like this,” says Michael Lucey, president of Mid-State Industries, which installed the roof. “This was an almost straight vertical application that required us to use special scaffolding for installation. The dormitories are surrounded by steep landscaping with minimal access, which posed many challenges to our team. Fortunately the DaVinci product is lightweight and installs easily. This made the application go quickly and effortlessly.”