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D

uring the shutdown for COVID-19, the folks at New Village Brewery – Frank and Lili Bacon – decided to do some renovation work. One project not on their list: a new roof. But it became mandatory after heavy May rains exposed a leak in the old metal covering their 110 year old building.

Frank was told the old roof was made with triple fold seams, hand rolled as it was installed. It would be difficult to repair. Broken pieces can’t be easily replaced as with modern metal systems. Though patches were possible, the leak was bad enough that the roof on the single-story portion of the building had to be completely replaced.

As the decades old metal came off, an older shingle roof was uncovered. Frank was told that most shingle roofed buildings were covered by metal ones after the New Bern fire of 1922 burned large portions of the city. Metal over the wooden shingles prevented the fire from jumping from house to house.

Workers of R E Bengel Sheet Metal Co. were out on Wednesday, tearing off the old roof and putting down the underlayment for the new roof.

There’s a leak under that old roof – though it’s hard to tell from outside.

The leak was on the Beer Garden side of the roof, but both sides are undergoing repair. Here, there’s the old roof, the shingles underneath, and the roofers at work.

A roof half removed. The metal roof covered the century-old shingles.

Frank Bacon was told the old roof would be difficult to repair -it was made using a triple fold seam, and was hand rolled as it was built. The whole thing would have to be replaced.

As the old shingles are pulled off, the ductwork beneath the roof is exposed.

Broken shingles pile up.

Clearing out the old and getting ready for the new.

A worker nimbly balances on the frame, hammering down nails that held shingles in place.

Here is the roof during the work….

And the roof early next morning – ready for another day of repairs.

Article will be updated with more photos as repairs continue.

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Story & photos by Allison DeWeese.

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Posted Thursday June 18, 2020 by Allison DeWeese