The Better the Roof the Closer to Heaven?
Written by Kyla Hill and Sally Sears, members of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church (UMC), this article was originally published on Feb. 1, 2024 on glennumc.org/blog. Photo by Erica Bitting, Communications Director at Glenn Memorial UMC. Republished with permission.
Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church is replacing the roof on its recreation building and setting a new standard for environmental protection in Druid Hills. The years-long effort is proof that patience and good ideas can change historic guidelines, leading to better, more environmentally appropriate roofs for more buildings in the district.
Gaining approval to replace the aging roof of the Glenn Youth and Activities Building (YAAB) is a story of poisonous historic materials, fake slate and shingle appearances, and two architects determined to do better than a short-term roof that merely keeps the rain off the second-floor basketball court.
Can Historic Integrity Include Environmental Stewardship?
First, the church’s trustees realized the existing fiberglass shingle roof needed to go. However, today’s fiberglass composite shingles, made to appear like old wooden shingles, conflict with environmental sustainability. Fiberglass composite roofing materials may have once been practical, but current environmental research shows their long-term harm to the community. That was a major problem for Glenn Memorial members who aim to be good stewards of the earth.
Glenn Trustee Chair Anne Michael Sustman, herself an architect, asked neighbor Cynthia Tauxe to find a better alternative. Tauxe is an architect skilled at winning historic district approval for architectural changes. She realized that traditional asphalt shingles had a history of toxic contamination.
She said, “I learned that the old asphalt shingle roofs were made on a substrate of cotton that became too expensive when the boll weevil did in the cotton market in the Great Depression. The historic roofs were pretty puny, so the owners often reinforced them by throwing a coat of lead-based paint on top.”
Rainwater sent lead down the roof, poisoning the soil below. Because they did not last long, owners re-roofed repeatedly and discarded old shingles into landfills.
They were often replaced in the 1960s with asbestos products, which were no better. Now we have fiberglass composites which are treated with chemicals to prevent staining that the manufacturers admit will make the water runoff "non-potable."
Tauxe’s research led her to EnviroSlate, a material made from recycled plastic with the appearance of slate tiles. Lighter and stronger than fiberglass composite shingles, they are made from 95% post-industrial products which can be recycled again and again. However, DeKalb County’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) initially said no.
Since the YAAB currently has fiberglass composite shingles, changing to a material resembling a slate roof would not maintain historic integrity. Cynthia’s research led her to agree that the roof, visible from North Decatur Road, should retain a style compatible with the history of the neighborhood.
Today, the shingles only appear to be historic. They copy the appearance of rustic wooden shake shingles, something that she says was probably never used at this address. Instead, she argued for a different reproduction. EnviroSlate tiles pose as real slate but cannot be mistaken for real slate; they offer a modest look while also upholding the county roof guidelines, requiring that the new material not create a false sense of historicity and support the church’s interest in environmental friendliness.
For months, the commission went back and forth with ideas and amendments from the church and the two architects. Staff changes at the HPC added new people to hear the pros and cons.
“Paige Jennings and her colleague Rachel Bragg did an amazing job jumping straight into this project. We went back and forth until a consensus was reached, eventually agreeing on EnviroSlate’s light gray shingles,” says Cynthia Tauxe.
The particular color is important because its shade and reflectivity will keep it cool.
The county finally agreed that this color is sufficiently modern so that the new roof will not be mistaken for a real historic slate roof.
“The Scout Hut behind the YAAB also needs a new roof,” says Trustee Chair Anne-Michael Sustman. “With this decision from the county, we can complete both important projects at the same time, saving money for the mission of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church.”
Druid Hills residents can expect to see the new roofs installed at the Glenn in early 2024.
Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) was active in helping see environmentally sustainable roofing at Glenn UMC. They have had an active Green Team since 2011 and Codi Norred, GIPL’s Executive Director, wrote a letter of support for the eco-friendly roof to the Druid Hills HPC in May 2023.
