St Stephens Cathedral, Brisbane QLD

Originally built in 1848 the imposing and majestic St Stephen’s Cathedral is a standout feature of the Brisbane city skyline.  When the roof of the Cathedral fell into disrepair, great care, quality materials and expert workmanship were needed to guarantee the safe removal and installation of a new roof.

As a heritage listed building, St Stephen’s must adhere to the Queensland Government’s conservative management plan, a plan which works to ensure the heritage values of a structure are meticulously conserved and managed.

The chosen roof material needed to be of the highest quality to ensure many more years of withstanding the harsh Queensland weather.  It needed to seamlessly blend in with the historic architecture of the building rather than overtake it.  Hence, Certified Roofing were engaged.  We chose to remodel and replace the 2000m², 60 degree pitch, old galvanised roof with Stramit Speed Deck Ultra.

However, the project did not come without its challenges.  Part way through, it was discovered that the roof was painted with bonded asbestos fibres.  As a result, the entire approach to the project had to be changed.

With the asbestos safely eliminated after ensuring all WPHS regulations were complied with, we also had to ensure safety was paramount when working  on the steep roof pitches and that the team was quickly working around the intricate stone masonry and ensuring there were no disruptions to church services.

Many were surprised we were able to retain the traditional look of the Cathedral, using advanced modern materials.