Weight of snow collapses church roof
Sometime this past Sunday, the roof of the main sanctuary building could no longer withstand the burden of the snowpack.
No one was hurt or in the sanctuary when the roof collapsed, said Bishop
On Tuesday morning, Robinette made the drive to
"That's certainly priority number one," the bishop said.
Perry Memorial's membership for Sunday services fluctuates from 150 to 200 parishioners. The church on
Church members were planning to consult with their insurance agent about rebuilding the sanctuary, and it appears the structure may be a total loss. Robinette estimates the Perry Memorial building dates from the 1950s.
"My first thought is, if possible, to rebuild right there," the bishop said.
The church wasn't the only area building that had its roof collapse from the weight of a heavier-than-normal local snowfall. Also on Sunday, a vacant building on
The leader of the engineering school at
"The codes deals with how much load a roof is supposed to bear. And obviously you may get conditions where the load on a roof exceeds the design loads," Oudshoorn told The Enterprise. "We had a bit more snow than usual -- so that would have put some extra load on roofs."
High Point got 11 inches of snow during the storm, which surpassed the total of 8.7 inches for an entire typical snow season.
Another factor that can affect a building's ability to withstand a heavy snow load is the age of the roof, Oudshoorn said.
"Some structural parts of a roof could have worn and weakened," he said.
The snowstorm has pointed out the need to monitor roofs and replace them when they have aged out of their design life, Oudshoorn said.
"A small investment of having someone check and verify your roof is not at risk is a wise move," he said.
[email protected] -- 336-888-3528 -- @HPEpaul
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