Background

St. Mary’s original tower was installed between 1938 and 1939. The new roof addition and replacement of the existing roof around the tower would require incredible skill in order to maintain the tower’s historic integrity — a nuanced job requiring careful hands and immaculate attention to detail.

Challenges

Clay tile roofs are extremely volatile, their design and installation are vital to the longevity of the roof. We know this first-hand, spending a lot of time re-roofing projects that other roofers improperly installed. They’ve found that clay roofs tend to be mishandled more often than any other type of roof. The student center posed yet another intriguing challenge for this project: the expansion project was to be built over the existing building.

Solutions

On the roof attached to the bell tower, we started by carefully stripping away the damaged roof deck, installed a new deck, and applied an underlayment that was specifically designed for this application. Then, we carefully installed a premium tile selected for it’s unique formation that limits water absorption and promotes a long lifespan. We used only premium concealed copper fasteners to attach the Ludowici clay tiles for a seamless appearance. Now, the structure stands strong once again with a restored Ludowici classic clay tile roof backed by a 75-year warranty.