First United Methodist Church

PROJECT DETAILS

Multiple Skills Come Together for Church Project

With steep-sloped roofs, multiple peaks, a bell tower, flat roofing and unique gutters, the re-roofing project at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Atkinson required a broad range of expertise.

F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing provided those skills in a project that restored the roof system of the church complex in downtown Fort Atkinson.

“This was an older building with distinctive architectural elements and with building additions that all needed new roofing,” said Jason Gilbertson, roofing Superintendent for FJAC. “We were really the only contractor that could provide all the skills the congregation needed for the 15,000-square-foot roofing project.”

Crews removed existing roofing, which included concrete tiling on the steep-sloped original section of the church and an entrance canopy, and a membrane system on multiple flat-roofed areas of building additions.

The project required extensive use of scaffolding and a crane to reach building heights. Crews had to work around church service and meeting schedules, and the activity of a child care center housed in the church buildings.

Working with specifications from the structural engineering firm SRI, FJAC crews replaced the steep-sloped sections with a roof system covered with Decra – stone coated metal tiles that provide the look and endurance of the concrete tiles without the weight.

FJAC has experience with Decra tiles on other steep-slope roofing projects.

Flat roofing was replaced with a system that include tapered polyisocyanurate insulation covered with FiberTite, a white membrane that uses Dupont’s Elvaloy KEE-based formula to give it durability under harsh conditions.

The existing gutter system, which rested on rafter tails, was replaced with the skills of FJAC’s Sonny McCarthy and the sheet metal fabrication department. They also fabricated access ladders for the bell tower to replace older wooden ladders, and fabricated safety rails. FJAC also rebuilt flooring in the bell tower and a roof hatch.

“All of our skills came together for this project,” Gilbertson said, “including our experience with steep-slope roofs, flat roofs, custom sheet metal work and the products selected to provide the church buildings with long lasting protection.”