U.Va.’s East Range Room Roofs Slated for Replacement

As the University of Virginia’s Rotunda begins its extensive renovation, the East Range Rooms will also receive new roofs.

“The framing, sheathing and most of the slate date to the original installation period in the 1830s,” said James D. W. Zehmer, U.Va.’s historic preservation project manager. “The existing slate roofs encapsulate the original Jeffersonian serrated roofs, and over the past roughly 190 years have served their purpose of protecting these important historic buildings. But it is now time to undertake a comprehensive replacement project.”

Workers replaced the similar West Range roofs last summer.

Workers from W.A. Lynch Roofing Co. of Charlottesville will replace all of the slate, as well as the flashings, ridge caps and gutters. In addition, the standing seam metal roof on Hotel D has reached the end of its useful life, Zehmer said, and will be replaced with a tin-coated stainless steel shingle roof, replicating Thomas Jefferson’s original design.

Scaffolding installation will start Monday at 7 a.m., with the actual roof replacement set to start on June 9. The east alleys will be closed temporarily during the work for material delivery and debris removal. The parking spaces directly next to Hotel D will be unavailable for the duration of the project.

“The demolition phase of work and the installation of slate roofing is a loud, noisy process, involving seemingly constant hammering,” Zehmer said. “The goal of the project is to complete the most disruptive work during the course of the summer, with sheet metal installation and scaffold removal continuing into September.”

The major work should be completed by Aug. 14, with Sept. 27 as the targeted completion date.