The major portion of the roof has been broken down into 3 sections, which have been worked on independently and sequentially. Each time, new ideas evolve, learning from the successes and failures of the previous section(s). The first major improvement in the work was the utilization of a giant tarp suspended over the work area to protect volunteers from the extremes of heat.

Initial tear-down began and volunteers were once reminded of the fact that this is an old building with all kinds of "issues" which have to be dealt with, sometimes involving changing the initial and assumed course of action. The upper layer of existing roof was interesting in that it consisted of a bituminous membrance poorly adhered to a corregated metalic substrate which was supported on retrofitted (rotted) framework. The initial idea was to remove this, then remove the original generation of roofing, and apply the new membrane to the original substrate. However, the original surface was so badly warped that it would have been futile to use this surface as a base for the new roof. A new idea was formulated to build a lightweight and strong framework to which could be applied a flat substrate of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) to carry the new membrane. The image at the bellow shows the three sections all in different stages.

Proceed to photos