10/30/2026
Part 1: Main Roof Repair (Urgent)
+ September 29 - October 9, 2026 +
It was keeping me up at night.
Having taken over stewardship of the church building in the spring of 2026, I’d been a “regular” on site throughout the summer months; taking stock, clearing debris, getting organized, and praying. And, keeping an eye on the roof.
I had noticed, during our early assessment of the property, that there was a section of the main roof that appeared - visually, from the parking lot - to be structurally compromised, somehow. The asphalt shingles were new - less than 4 years old - but downhill from where the base of the steeple lands on the main roof, they were showing signs of buckling. There had been a significant structural failure - in more or less the same spot - on the other side of the roof a couple of years back, which had resulted in rain intrusion and serious water damage in some first floor rooms. Mike and I were speculating that a siding/flashing failure where the base of the steeple and the roof system connect had resulted in water penetrating, and ultimately rotting, sections of the roof sheathing and timberwork. We further speculated that, though the sheathing and asphalt shingles on both sides of the roof had been replaced at some point, it was possible that the root (flashing?) issue that had caused the problem initially had not been addressed, and was continuing to compromise the structure.
While I knew this would require a closer look at some point, early on it wasn’t clear how substantial the problem was and if/how quickly it was worsening. We didn’t have a ladder on site yet, tall enough to access the interior/underside. As the weeks went on, though, every time I pulled into the parking lot I just had this nagging sense: Were those buckling shingles looking worse by the day?
In late August, I finally got the big extension ladder to the building. Climbing into the tall, sweltering space above the sanctuary with just my morbid curiosity and a cell phone, I negotiated my way through the ancient truss system - taking due care not to step between the ceiling joists, and through the ceiling below - to the the underside of the trouble spot. What I discovered there was not comforting.
Whatever the root cause - to be discovered later - it was immediately clear that two or more of the purlin timbers bearing the weight of the roof for that 12’ span were actively failing, splitting, and falling away. At that point, they remained in place simply as a matter of habit and on the tensile strength of the asphalt above. Left to its own devices, this structure was on the verge of having (another) major hole open up, and soon. We still had about a month before Mike (my brother, and experienced custom timber framer) would be available. With some basic tools and lumber already on site, by the light of my phone I cobbled together a structural “band aid”, and then snapped some pictures to send to Mike to let him know what we needed to be prepared to tackle, first thing.
+++
On September 29th, we were able to get to work.
At first we considered the possibility that - because the shingles above were relatively new - we might be able to do most of what we needed to do from below; replacing and/or reinforcing the failing purlins, while gently encouraging the roofing above back into shape. However, we quickly observed that the OSB sheathing was dry-rotted to the point of dust in some places and would need at least targeted replacement. Then, getting further involved, it gradually became evident that the primary timber of this roof truss was deeply compromised. We would need to open up the roof from the outside in order to determine how bad it was, and what would be required to remedy the situation.
Opening the roof such that all the relevant timbers could be assessed was - as you might expect - an illuminating process.
First, we found that the newest shingles had been overlayed on top of a previous generation of asphalt roofing, which had clearly come to the bitter end of its life before being addressed. This told us that, 1.) The OSB sheathing, which I had assumed was installed at the time of the most recent shingling, was actually much (30+ years?) older and 2.) That the present state of damage/rot/structural failure was the result of the previous asphalt roofing having been allowed to decay to the point of permeability. Water (rain/snow melt) had intruded through the failed roofing for some time before new shingles were applied, and when the new roofing was finally installed, it was installed on top of an already compromised structure, trapping active rot underneath, which continued to decay the timberwork.
Potential sermon illustrations abound.
The primary truss timber was in bad shape. For a span of ~8 feet, dry rot had eaten away some 3/4 of the internal substance of the timber. Bear in mind: this one truss supports the weight of about 30% of this elevation of the roof… Altogether, I am confident that had this situation remained undiscovered or unaddressed, the roof system would have suffered a catastrophic collapse under a snow load this winter.
I’m willing to call the timing of this work “providential”, at this point.
We proceeded to expose the total compromised area of the timber system, and surgically carved out the rot from the body of the truss. Mike then - genuine artisan that he is! - crafted a “key” timber, shaped to fit perfectly within the body of the damaged original, precisely where the rot had been removed. Once installed, the integrity of the roof system, restored, we were able to re-sheath and re-roof the affected area.
-Pastor Chris Bannon
