After debating for 18 months about what to use to reroof Church of the Good Shepherd in Arcadia, Calif., Western Roofing Systems, Anaheim, Calif., came in and had the congregation appreciating the beauty of steel roofs. The church’s main sanctuary was built in 1947 and is a complex series of steep-slope A-frames. A school building and four office structures were built starting in 1957, in a modified Tudor style with steep-slope roofing. The original building was roofed with wood shake, and the chapel had been reroofed with wood shake 15 years ago.
“The congregation wanted to stay with the same style,” said Phil Wood, pastor. “If this (roofing) wasn’t close to the same look, it would stick out like a sore thumb. People would make assumptions about this congregation, such as it was ‘done on the cheap.’ We didn’t ever expect it to look this good.”
The congregation decided on using MetroShake II stone-coated steel from Metro Roof Products, Oceanside, Calif., because of its low maintenance and long lifespan. The project took eight weeks to complete, and during the times when the church was in use for funerals, work was stopped so the noise wouldn’t interfere with the services. Work was scheduled on the school building during Easter vacation when school was out and then completed after school hours.
