Giving Back
Replacing the Roof on Community Grange in Port Angeles, Washington
by Camille Dodson, Editorial Assistant
The Fairview Grange, located in Port Angeles, Washington, has been a staple of the community for more than 100 years. Formerly the Fairview Schoolhouse, the Fairview Grange opened in 1919 and has been serving its community ever since. Currently under ownership from the local community service organization, the grange has been used for events, fundraisers, and dinners for the residents of the surrounding area. The Grange raises money to support and sponsor the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and provide scholarships to local high school students. Unfortunately, being such a longstanding staple of the community also comes with maintenance issues.
The roof was a mismatched mix of three types of roofing products from different patch jobs in the past, including some of the original 100 year old cedar shakes, mossy three-tab shingles, and rusted metal sheets. “Parts of the roof were probably 60 years old,” said John Raske, a member of the community service organization. “The back area of the roof was at least 30 years old and leaking. It was time for a new roof.”
The community reached out to BMC Roofing out of Sequim, Washington, after the company had recently completed a reroof on the Sequim Prairie Grange. BMC Roofing is named after their motto, Bringing More Care, because of their ability to bring extra care to each of the projects that they work on. The family-owned company focuses primarily on residential and commercial roofing, but also offers siding services and walkable waterproof vinyl decking as well. BMC Roofing tarped off the roof while they decided on the best course of action for the reroof.
“We used Advantage Waterblock® 30lb synthetic underlayment and PABCO® Premier shingles in the color Pewter Gray,” said Patten Sutterby, Owner of BMC Roofing. “We chose Advantage Waterblock because we find it can withstand the wear of installation the best. While installing shingles, roofers make many trips over the same areas of the roof to get more material and this wears your underlayment. Our experience is that Waterblock is least affected by this. We prefer to install PABCO shingles because they are designed, tested, and made right here in Washington state in the very environment that we install them. This allows us to keep our business local. PABCO makes some of the heaviest shingles on the market and, with any shingle roof, it will erode over the entire life of the roof so why not buy the product that gives you the most shingle over your structure.”
The team at BMC Roofing carefully removed the old roof, saving the metal sheets for a local who wanted to repurpose them, before starting the installation process. The changing weather proved to be a challenge for the team, forcing them to work around the rain during the tear off process. Preventing further water damage was a huge priority. Luckily, the talented workers at BMC were able to get the job done without allowing any more damage to come to the grange.
The new roof was paid for by the generous members of the community who wanted to give back. Now complete with a stylish new reroof, the Fairview Grange can continue serving locals by providing room for events for the community service organization as well as a public space for locals who wish to use it.
