St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado
St. Benedict’s Monastery Background
The St. Benedict’s Monastery is located in Pitkin County, in the community of Snowmass, Colorado about 18 miles northwest of Aspen. It is surrounded by the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness which includes the massive Mt. Sopris (12,953'). This area experiences severe weather including heavy snow, extreme temperature swings, and high winds.
The drought conditions in 2018 and the fire in nearby Basalt, Colorado drew attention to the condition of the original cedar shake roof of the monastery. The original cedar shake roof on the St. Benedict’s Monastery was constructed back in 1958.
The St. Benedict’s Monastery was in need of a new roof that could not just protect the structure and look great, but one that could resist fire and extreme weather events.
Project
Following a period of consultation and solicitation of bids, Horn Brothers Roofing was chosen to install a new CeDUR Walden roof.
During the summer of 2019 a team of eight Horn Brothers workers were on-site from May through July. They removed 32,000 square feet of the original wood shake roofing material and underlay materials. They installed over 53,000 pieces of fire resistant CeDUR shakes including new copper flashing and snow retention brackets.
Horn Brothers Roofing installed 331 squares of CeDUR product to keep the original shake profile look. The scope of this project was to re-roof the Monastery that is over 60 years old and keep the existing fascia intact.
Successful Completion
Following the successful completion and county inspection of the roof on July 24, 2019 Abbot Charles Albanese expressed the gratitude of the monastic community to friends and benefactors for making it possible to undertake and successfully complete the project.
Before photo: wood shake roof installed in 1958
After photo: CeDUR Walden roof installed by Horn Brothers Roofing in 2019