Heritage Trust Ontario Approves St James Stratford's Roofing Project

Dave Sheldon and the property committee of St. James Anglican Church in Stratford is leading the way in terms of environmentally friendly options for heritage churches. Mr. Sheldon reports that convincing Heritage Trust Ontario of alternative greening options was challenging but worth it. Mr. Sheldon says that when they recently reroofed the parish hall they "used Enviroshake composite shakes instead of the original cedar shakes". The composite shakes are an endurable product made mostly from a combination of recycled rubber, plastic and fibrous materials and manufactured in Chatham.

Obviously, Mr. Sheldon is a great pitchman for greener ways of maintaining Anglican heritage churches.He also says that "This is now the first heritage building in Ontario to use a composite roofing material and this is something we are quite proud of". As you can see in the pictures the 'shakes' blend very well with the trees and property itself. It is this kind of environmental leadership by the Anglican church which is helping to make sure that greener alternatives will become the norm in the future. This environmental roof is aesthetically popular as well.

Mr. Sheldon says "I think that the roof looks so much like aged cedar that it's worth doing even on a heritage building". This practice was a win-win situation, not only was it ecologically safe but it kept the original integrity of the building. 

The 'shakes' blend very well with the trees and property itself