Spring,
2005: Issue #4
Project Spotlight:
Cathedral of Saint Andrew,
Little Rock, Arkansas
Midland
Engineering
It’s not very often anyone
has an opportunity to slate a cathedral, but such a monumental
project was recently undertaken by Midland
Engineering of South Bend, Indiana, on the Cathedral
of Saint Andrew in Little Rock, Arkansas. The project
was coordinated by Monsignor Scott Marczuk who had correctly
ascertained, with the aid of a roof consultant, that
the original 120-year-old slate roof had reached the
end of its life and needed to be replaced. The original
slates were about two thirds Pennsylvania black, which
were deteriorated beyond repair, and one third Vermont
unfading green, which were still quite sound despite
their age. When the original slates were removed, many
were salvaged and used for fund-raising by the church
to help pay for the new roof. It is worth noting that
the original slate roof reportedly had no underlayment.
The Cathedral consists of a main roof with transept and
parapets, plus a 220-foot octagonal spire, an attached
rear chapel and an attached rear dome totaling 245
squares. The slate was originally installed in an intricate
pattern of green slates over a black slate background — a
pattern meticulously replicated by Midland during the
roof replacement.
The roofs had been slated in 1881 at a cost of $1,951.50,
including labor and materials. Prices have gone up
since then, and so has the quality of flashings and
nails. Although the original flashings were tin and
copper, terne-coated stainless steel flashings were
used on the new slate roof in the valleys, box-gutters,
ridges, chimney flashings and step flashings. Four-pound
sheet lead was used for counter-flashing against the
rough stone parapets. Stainless steel slater’s
nails were used on the main body of the cathedral in
order to penetrate the old yellow-pine sheathing more
easily.
Master slater Lyle Bandurski (below, above) and project
manager Steve Kurtz (below) teamed up to construct
a beautiful roof of Cwt-y-bugail Welsh slates blended
with Vermont unfading green slates, both from Hilltop
Slate in Middle Granville, NY. The project won
the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas’s
Outstanding Craftsmanship Award, an annual award presented
in Arkansas for “outstanding achievement in historic
preservation.”
Midland Engineering can be reached at 52369 US 33 North,
South Bend, Indiana (ph: 574-272-0200) or at midlandengineering.com.
Hilltop slate can be reached at PO Box 201, Rt. 22A,
Middle Granville, NY 12849 (ph: 518-642-2270) or at hilltopslate.com.
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