This roof needs help!

The BOSS has everything. From the gym / auditorium to the 12' ceilings to the fire escape spiral slide. There's an enormous amount of work to do to repair the damage, replace items that had been stripped away from the very walls in the years past, and begin a modern - restoration of this amazing school building. However, one thing we learned in the first year of clean-up and initial repairs... when the roof leaks, all the work inside is in danger.

From the first moment we set eyes on this gorgeous building, we loved it. From the first moment we set foot on the roof, we knew there was trouble.

Years of haphazard tar patching may have allowed the BOSS to survive, but clearly the time for more repairs than patching had long since passed, long before we got here. The tar is so very old, in many places it has disintegrated into powder. In places where the cracked, old tar patches are themselves far too old, many of the roof patches are bare down to the roofing paper!

Can you see the difference between the new tar and the old? (If not, your picture hasn't loaded yet...)

The BOSS had several leaks when we first moved here, due to its age, due to broken drainpipes filled with roofing stones and other debris, and due to the years of neglect.

Over the course of the 2 years we have been here, the leaks have exponentially multiplied.

This leaves the BOSS with only one option: a full roofing repair, a costly task.

So far we have raised and received approximately 1/10 of the amount we estimate needing - as suggested by a roofing consultant who would not himself be doing the work. Our property managers are physically capable people, and are able to handle much of the labor. We will have to hire an expert for the task, even though we may offset some of the labor. And the materials needed for a flat roof over 8,000 sq. ft. large are no laughing matter.

With Koinonia Way, a non-profit organization, heading up this expansive roofing project -- ( you may recognize their work in bringing in the amazing Saranac boy scouts to replace our retaining wall during 2014! )-- any donation would be tax-deductible... and enormously appreciated!

After all. Waterfalls are beautiful. Just not inside the building...