Weight of snow collapses church roof

Dec. 11--THOMASVILLE -- The members of Perry Memorial Church of the Living God have lost their sanctuary from the weight of snow on its collapsed roof, but they haven't lost their faith.

Sometime this past Sunday, the roof of the main sanctuary building could no longer withstand the burden of the snowpack. Thomasville got 10 inches of snow -- because of the storm, no services were held this past Sunday at Perry Memorial.

No one was hurt or in the sanctuary when the roof collapsed, said Bishop Donnie Robinette with the Church of the Living God. Robinette is a church general overseer out of Rockingham County.

On Tuesday morning, Robinette made the drive to Thomasville to consult with Perry Memorial members. The immediate need is to find a building where the church can hold services in the interim, Robinette told The High Point Enterprise.

"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 Jewell Street has been offering three services a week, Robinette said.

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 W. English Road in High Point had its roof cave in -- no one was injured.

The leader of the engineering school at High Point University said a host of factors can go into explaining why a roof might collapse.

Michael Oudshoorn, dean of the HPU Webb School of Engineering, said he couldn't comment on specific local incidents of collapsed roofs. But he said, in general, communities have building codes that address weight limits on roofs.

"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.

pjohnson@hpenews.com -- 336-888-3528 -- @HPEpaul

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