Massive Magdalen Catholic Church Gets Synthetic Slate Roof

The team at Eaton Roofing & Exteriors likes a challenge. And that’s exactly what they got when they were hired to reroof Magdalen Catholic Church with synthetic slate tiles.

The 30,000 square-foot church, located in Wichita, Kansas, can seat 1,500 people in their round sanctuary. The structure was built in 2002, and, at the time, asphalt shingles were installed due to budget considerations. However, during the past 10 years, shingles were blown off or damaged in storms. That’s when the team at Eaton Roofing came out for repairs.

“By the time we got to 2018, repairs we no longer a viable option,” says Bill McCormack, vice president of sales with Eaton Roofing & Exteriors. “That’s when I met with board members and convinced them to invest in a durable DaVinci Roofscapes Single-Width Slate roof.”

1,000,000 Milestone

The sanctuary roof at Magdalen Catholic Church in Wichita, KS

The crew at Eaton Roofing are no strangers to big projects—or to DaVinci Roofscapes products. In 2019, they were honored as the first roofing company in the state of Kansas to install more than 1 million square feet of DaVinci composite roofing product.

“We average about 25 DaVinci installations each year through our six locations,” says McCormack. “Most are residential, but some, like Magdalen Catholic Church, allow us to use our talents on commercial projects.”

Round Roof? No Way

From the road, it appears that the roof on the church is round. However, when the old roof was removed, the Eaton Roofing team discovered it was actually oval in shape.

“This project was challenging for a number of reasons,” says McCormack. “The low slope and unique shape are the two biggest considerations.

“We took extra steps to ensure a successful installation. Our team completed a full-scale mock-up of the entire project in our parking lot with spray paint. We needed to determine exactly what width of shingle would best suit the radius. That’s because the radius tightened as we moved up the roof.

The signature round roof of Magdalen Catholic Church, clad entirely in DaVinci Slate“We wound up having disappearing courses in the first 10 courses. There were lots of chalk lines and measurements involved.”

Ready for Mother Nature

For the underlayment, the Eaton team used fully adhered ice and water shield on the low slope areas of the dome. On the 7/12 slopes they used 20 mill synthetic.

With a full team working nonstop, the new synthetic slate composite roof on the church and the gathering space was finished in just 9 days. Now the Slate Gray synthetic slate roof helps protect the structure from severe weather, high winds and hail.

“This DaVinci roof was a very smart investment for the church,” says McCormack. “They won’t have to worry any longer about maintenance issues. The synthetic slate product is made to stand up to whatever Mother Nature throws their way. And, in Kansas, that can be some pretty unpleasant weather conditions!”

Round Roof Repair Running Rapidly and Reliably