Fr. Lukasz Pyka
Oct 1, 2022
October 3 – 26, 2022
Greetings,
As many of you know, our parish has been plagued by the leaks in our gym roof for years, and I am happy to say these leaks are finally coming to an end. Starting on October 3rd, our gym roof will begin the process of being fully replaced. The current roof will be removed down to the main joists, and a new galvanized steel roof will be installed. All our current HVAC equipment will be removed as part of this process, and then reinstalled after the main roof construction is complete. In addition to the new roof, new hi-efficiency gym lights will also be installed as part of this project, helping us further reduce our long-term electric costs. This new roof also comes with a 20-year manufacturer warranty, which means that, God willing, we should not have any roofing issues until 2042!
To get to the start date for this project has been a long process for our parish. Starting last year with the initiation of this capital project, we examined every possibility in determining the root cause of all our reoccurring leaks. We sought out experts as we crafted the full scope of work for this project, a structural engineer to ensure that all the penetrating leaks have not caused substantial structural damage; a roofing specialist to oversee and document every part of construction to ensure we can fully enforce the warranty and the proper installation of the roof; and the roofing manufacture to review and confirm that the roof we are installing is the best for the buildings long-term sustainability. After receiving these recommendations, we determined that it would be more cost-effective for our parish to replace the entire roof versus a substantial portion of it, for at least 80% of the roof would need to be replaced due to underlying damage to the deck plate (pictures below).
The full scope of work was sent out to vendors this past spring, and 4 roofing and 3 HVAC companies provide proposals for consideration. With the aid of our Archdiocesan Construction Manager, each of these proposals was reviewed and compared. The full comparison was provided to our parish leadership team, and through much discernment, we chose two vendors who were both cost-effective and showed commitment to providing us the best long-term solution.
Our biggest constraint with this project is financial. As you may be aware, cost of goods and materials have skyrocketed since the COVID19 outbreak. On average, the cost of construction material is approximately 30-40% more now than it was during pre-pandemic times. When we started this project, we hoped that the roof damage would be contained and we could do a partial replacement for less than $300,000; however, that was not what was found. With the increased cost of good, this roof project will now cost $436,564. To cover these costs, $326,000 was set aside from the sale of one of the two-flats owned by the parish on Marmora. In addition to these monies, we received a capital grant from the Archdiocese for $35,773 for the project; however, this leaves us to continue to fundraise an additional $75,000 to cover the entire bill.
In addition, for the month of October this project will be an inconvenience in term of parking as the gym and part of the parking lot (picture below) will be inaccessible. We ask that everyone use the Marmora side of the large parking and the small parking for the time being.
I am extremely excited for everyone to experience the new gym roof at the end of October, for it will certainly be a change to look up at a brightly illuminated gym ceiling without hundreds of feet of tarp hanging. I ask for your patience as we move forward with this project, and for your prayers that October is dry so this project can be completed in a timely manner. Lastly, I ask everyone to consider providing a special gift to our parish for this project. This roof will positively impact everyone one of us in the coming years. From our kids in the gym to using the space during fish-fry – I am very excited that we are finally at this point, and that our entire community will be positively impacted by this.
Jeffrey Ryan
Operations Director
Construction Area - unavailable for use from October 3 – 26, 2022