The staff at Community Covenant Church in Peabody, MA had known for some time that their aging roof needed replacing. There were stains on the interior from roof leaks, and algae and lichen were growing profusely in some sections. Of the contractors who bid on the project, Ken Duval was the only one who was able to tell them that one reason for their roofing problems was that the shingles were from a defective batch produced by GAF in 1989. When they checked their records, that was indeed the time frame during which the last roof had been installed.
Because of his long history in the roofing industry and his care in evaluating roofs when preparing bids, Ken recognized the crack in the photo below as the sign of a defective shingle.
Unfortunately, most of the major shingle manufacturers have produced batches of defective shingles from time to time, and roofing contractors are no more able to detect defects in new shingles than the homeowner can. But a good roofing contractor can mitigate the risk by performing a by-the-book installation that doesn’t leave the manufacturer with a convenient “out” in case the homeowner has to have recourse to their warranty. Ken has been working with the leading manufacturers for decades, so he knows their track records and takes every precaution to assure that the roofing materials are as good as the workmanship his crew uses to install them.
Another concern for the church was the speed with which the new roof could be installed. Since it is a large building with many sections, the installation would have to be done over several days, but with minimal disruption to ongoing church activities and while protecting anyone entering and leaving the premises. Duval’s experienced roofers excel in doing quality work in tight time frames. They are also experts at clean up; the church has a nursery school with a playground below the roofline so it was essential that all nails, metal scraps, etc. be removed on completion.
Below is a before/after photo of two sections of the churches roof that show how degraded it had become. The back section of new roof installed the prior day can be compared to the lichen covered section of old roof yet to be done.
Shingle manufacturers are constantly experimenting with new materials and the latest shingles include zinc which acts as a deterrence to algae and lichen which, in addition to being unsightly, can damage shingles over time.
Within just four days, the entire church complex was re-roofed and the community can gaze upwards for reasons other than checking for roof leaks!
