Previous Roof Committee Updates
Update: January, 2025
The Grace Roof Committee is excited to report that the Grace Slate Roof Project (Project) is now entering the early construction phase, with actual construction to begin in May 2025. Since early October 2024, Grace has signed a contract with Bachmann Construction to be the Construction Manager on the project. Bachmann, Dan Maki (architect/engineer at Facilities Engineering on the project) and Fred Groth (project manager for Grace) recommended to the Roof Committee that Bachmann hire Kulp’s of Stratford, LLC as the roofing subcontractor for the project. After thoughtful consideration of the options, the Roof Committee, and subsequently the Vestry, voted to approve this recommendation.
During the months of October, November and early December, the Vestry voted to fund the Project primarily through fundraising and donations, with commitments of financial support from the Grace Foundation, first, and the Development Fund Trust, second, to the extent fundraising falls short of the total cost. The Grace Foundation has already expended funds for the assessments and pre-construction phases of the Project.
Bachmann confirmed this week that the slate has been ordered by Kulp’s earlier this month and is expected to arrive in four to five months. During the late winter, pruning will be done to protect as much of the greenscape as possible. The tentative schedule will unfold as follows. Bachmann will arrive on site beginning Monday, April 28th. Beginning the week of May 5th, the scaffolding will be erected over a period of a couple of weeks. The stained-glass windows will be protected, as well as the fount in the garden area and other immovable garden plantings. Slate removal is projected to begin in late May to early June, depending on when the new slate arrives. There is preliminary structural work that will be completed before the new slate can be laid over a period of months. The slate roof portion of the project is expected to be completed no later than the end of 2025. Restoration of the gardens will occur in 2026.
As with any major project of this size and scope on an historic building, we need to be prepared for unexpected discoveries along the way. Yet, we have a highly capable and competent team with excellent rapport and communication, and we can expect an outstanding result that will last until the end of the century or early next century. We invite all of you to contribute whatever you are able, however large or small, to this worthy Project to maintain our National Historic Register and City Landmark treasure.
Respectfully submitted,
The Grace Roof Committee
Deb Anken-Dyer, Chairperson
Fred Groth, Project Manager/Engineer
Jonathan Grieser, Rector
Amy Robinson, Senior Warden
Joe Bartol, Lawyer/Grace Member
Jane Hamblen, Former Senior Warden
Suzy Buenger, Art History Professor Emerita
Update: June, 2024
It has been some time since we have provided the congregation with an update on our roof project. As we have reported in the past, the current slate roof which was installed in 1980 is failing and needs to be replaced. The roof committee and our consultants have been working diligently behind the scenes and we are at a pivotal moment in the life of the project.
While we had tentatively hoped to complete construction this year, it became clear early in 2024 that we would not be able to adhere to that ambitious schedule. Due to the schedules of contractors, the extent of the pre-construction work and the predicted time between ordering and delivery of slate, we decided we needed to defer until 2025. We hope construction will begin construction in Spring 2025. In order to meet that schedule, several critical benchmarks still need to be reached.
Currently, detailed drawings and Requests for Proposals are being prepared by Dan Maki of Facilities Engineering Inc with input from GRAEF. Bachmann, Construction Manager, will oversee the bidding process, seeking at least two bids on Grace’s behalf for each of the following: scaffolding, masonry, slate roof installation, metal work and gutters. Wood- related work, which will be minimal, will not be bid out separately but completed by whomever does the masonry. Once bids are obtained and reviewed, Bachmann will prepare a guaranteed maximum price for the Vestry’s consideration, hopefully as early as its August meeting.
Other preliminary work has been happening, as well. At the recommendation of Fred Groth, General Manager, and Construction Manager, Bachmann Construction, Bachmann has hired Gilco, a scaffolding designer, to prepare plans for the scaffolding which will encompass much of the building and allow for safe and easy access to the roof. These scaffolding design plans will be provided to scaffolding companies to prepare bids for the actual scaffolding construction. Protection will be built for the vegetation in the courtyard and Karlen gardens and protection will be installed for the stained glass windows.
During these conversations, something of the process also became clear. Work will proceed in sections along each side of the nave, first to remove slate and decking as necessary, and then to make any repairs to the trusses and interior construction. This is the easiest and most efficient acce3ss for doing the interior repairs. At the same time, workers will repair damaged masonry and tuckpoint, as necessary. Gutters will be replaced, as well. The whole process should take several months.
The roof committee and the Vestry have selected the slate that will be installed: Vermont Clear Grey, a premium quality Vermont slate supplied from the same quarry by one of two companies, either North Country or Greenstone. The slate will meet the ASTM S1 standard, meaning it is expected to last 75+ years. The color is battleship gray. The mineral and chemical composition of natural slate contributes to a weathering process over time which causes a percentage of the slate (10 to 25%) to weather to tones of brown and buff, a perfect complement to our buff sandstone nave. Our choice was approved by the City Landmarks Commission this month (June 2024) and Grace has already received a certificate of appropriateness to proceed with the project. A sample of that slate will be available in the rear of the nave or Vilas Hall for people to see.
Just this week, final plans and bid documents were completed. Those documents are
available for download for anyone interested.
Update: December, 2023
Replacement of the slate roof system is an urgent, high priority, stand-alone project for Grace, based upon comprehensive preservation-focused architectural and engineering condition assessments and historical research conducted by a consultant team with extensive historic preservation experience. The team is following guidelines in National Park Service Preservation Briefs #4 Roofing for Historic Buildings and #29 The Repair, Replacement, and Maintenance of Slate Roofs, as well as National Slate Association technical bulletins.
The roof system components include slate tiles; wood substrate and trusses; masonry; flashing; soffits and gutters. Over the past several decades approximately $78,000 in repairs have been incurred to replace slate tiles, with costs increasing with each repair cycle as the roof deterioration continues to accelerate. Water leakage to the wood substrate below the slate tiles is starting to occur, with potential damage to underlying, centuries-old wooden trusses and wood framing. Stone masonry and metal flashing need repair and restoration. Gutters also need to be replaced. The roof needs to be replaced as soon as feasible, with consultants recommending target dates of 2024 or 2025. Based on preliminary estimates developed by the project team in July 2023, the projected cost for the entire project is $1.5 million (based on 2024 dollars).
Grace is planning to replace the current slate roof tiles with high quality slate (ASTM S1 standard meaning the slate will last 75+ years). A life cycle cost analysis comparing composite shingle tiles, steel tiles and natural slate tiles showed that a natural slate tile roof is the most cost effective over 80 years because it does not need to be replaced. In addition, the roof is a significant character-defining feature of the architectural style and aesthetics of our church which is on the National Historic Register and a Madison City Landmark. Slate will maintain the authenticity and integrity of our historic property.
Update: September, 2023
Based on all work done to date, the Roof Committee voted on September 5, 2023, to recommend to the Vestry that the slate roof system on the Nave be replaced. Bachmann Construction has worked with all of the experts mentioned above, including Charlie Quagliana, a historic preservation architect also hired as a consultant, and the current estimate based on 2024 figures is that the cost of the project will be $1.5 million for a natural slate roof system projected to last 80+ years. The consultant team was also asked to do a life cycle cost analysis to compare three different roofing materials: natural slate, composite shingle and steel. Because we are on the National Register of Historic Places and a Madison City Landmark, either composite shingle or steel tiles would need to meet historic standards. This analysis (for materials and installation only) showed over a 90-year period that it is substantially more cost effective to put on a natural slate roof than either of the other two options. The reason is because a composite slate roof would need to be replaced twice over 90 years, and a steel roof would need to be replaced once. Natural slate would not need to be replaced. This results in substantial savings in labor costs. A copy of the full update is available here.
Update: July 12, 2023
The Roof Committee is busily working behind the scenes. We received word in June that the Fund for Sacred Places invited us to apply for the full grant, which is due on July 14. In preparation for that, Project Manager Fred Groth has put together a team of consultants that is preparing cost estimates for the project. We are also beginning to gather a fundraising team and interviewing marketing professionals to help us with campaign materials. One of the stipulations to receive the grant is that only funds raised after we are awarded the grant will be eligible for the full match so we won’t begin formal fundraising until after October 1, 2023.
Update May, 2023
The GRC has made substantial progress to date in 2023 toward the planning and pre-construction phase of replacement of the Nave slate roof and its component structures. The roof replacement is projected to be done in the summer of 2024 or 2025. The GRC is seeking a grant in the amount of $250,000 from the National Fund for Sacred Place and submitted phase I of our application In February 2023. Only 5% of several hundred applicants will be asked to submit full applications in July. We believe we have submitted a strong Letter Of Intent (available upon request) which falls squarely within the criteria for funding and are hopeful we will be invited to submit a full application. Prayers are welcome! We are also in the early stages of determining how to proceed with fundraising for additional funds.
Regardless of whether Grace receives a grant from the Fund, the following steps are next in the planning and pre-construction phase: contract with professional consultants 1) to complete condition assessments and a summary of the assessments; 2) to develop a scope of work and proposed treatment summary; and 3) to develop an opinion of probably costs for all components parts of the roof project for the historic nave. In addition, the GRC will obtain a life cycle cost analysis comparing natural slate to synthetic slate. We have asked several highly qualified professionals experienced in work on historic buildings and Grace Church to submit proposals to complete this work by June 30.
This continues work already begun. In September 2022, GRAEF engineering (Fred Groth, principal engineer at GRAEF) completed a partial assessment of slate tiles and masonry around the perimeter of the slate roof as part of an overall assessment of the entire façade of Grace. The full report is available here. In March 2023, the centuries-old wooden trusses supporting the Nave roof were evaluated. We are pleased to report that due to well-ventilated space above the Nave, the wood trusses are in excellent condition; only minor repairs are needed. On April 19, 2023, the Vestry, acting on the recommendation of the GRC, passed a Resolution to approve the work outlined above and to ask the Grace Foundation for funds to complete this planning and pre-construction phase for the Nave roof.
If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact Fr. Jonathan Grieser, Deb Anken-Dyer, Fred Groth or other members of the Grace Roof Committee: Joe Bartol; Barbara (Suzy) Buenger; Fr. Jonathan Grieser, Rector; Fred Groth, Grace General Manager for the Roof Project; Jane Hamblen, Senior Warden; David Lyon, and Deb Anken-Dyer, Chair of Grace Roof Committee
May 12, 2023