Cedar Point Hotel Gets Composite Slate Roof

Theme parks generally rely on “off season” time to do major renovations, including roofing projects. But, what happens when the down time in mid-winter features almost a dozen days of below zero temperatures and more than 60 inches of snowfall? Getting up on the roof can be a cold, challenging activity.

“One of the reasons polymer slate roofing tiles from DaVinci Roofscapes were chosen for the Hotel Breakers re-roofing project was because the installation could be done in cold weather without having to warm the roof tiles before installation,” says Jim Carson, vice president of A-STAR out of Macedonia, Ohio. “The hotel is at Cedar Point theme park on the shores of Lake Erie. That’s a challenging situation, especially since we experienced the worst Cleveland winter in 30 years right in the middle of the installation!”

Slate Roof

Carson and the team at A-STAR relied on coordination of the project and clear direction from John G. Johnson Construction Company, building moisture consultant Felice & Associates, and Kary Project Management. “The challenges on this very difficult and high profile project were minimized,” says Carson. “These teams were great to work with. It also helped significantly to have skilled technicians from DaVinci provide on-site installation.”

Backed by a 50-year limited warranty, all DaVinci polymer roofing products are designed to remain flexible at extreme temperatures. This makes it possible to install synthetic roofing materials during all types of weather.

Opened more than 100 years ago, the Hotel Breakers is the original on-property Cedar Point hotel. Situated on the Cedar Point beach, the hotel is just a two-minute walk from the theme park. The interior of the Hotel Breakers features rich architectural details including original Tiffany glass and a beautiful rotunda.

Composite Slate roof“There are 650 rooms and suites in this large property,” says Carson. “We used about 425 squares of a custom Milano blend of imitation slate in our first phase of the re-roofing. The combinations of gray and purple tones in the roof set off the hotel beautifully.

“Once the park closes this autumn the same synthetic shingle will be used to re-roof the second phase of this project. This will be even bigger since it will use up to 700 squares.”