The University’s Project Services division is working with the W. A. Lynch Roofing Company of Charlottesville to restore the roof of Hotel D to its original Jeffersonian glory.
Michael Merriam, the associate director for Facilities Maintenance, will oversee the roofing team responsible for construction.
“The project is to replace the existing roof on Hotel D with a roof that matches the original that Jefferson had designed for the building,” Merriam said.
About one-third to one-half of Jefferson’s designed roof on Hotel D remains intact today. In the 1850s, the roof was covered in slate. Then, near the end of the 19th century, much of the slate was replaced with a standing-seam, terne-coated steel roof. The steel roof and roofing deck are currently being replaced with new steel shingles and a new deck, intended to capture the original roof’s style.
“The biggest difference in the materials that Jefferson used and the materials that we’re using is that Jefferson had access to tin-coated steel shingles,” Merriam said. “We cannot get iron, forged or rolled, that thin anymore.”
The renovation will use stainless steel shingles coated with tin instead. The outer coat acts as a preservative and gives the shingling a shiny exterior that will eventually age into a chalky white.
“It will give it the same look, but it will be a much more durable material,” Merriam said.
The original roof of Hotel D was made of iron shingles coated in tin and locked together in a folded-seam system designed by Jefferson himself. The interlocking shingles, with side-to-side edges folded into one another and overlapped, is common in this area and especially on Grounds. The Rotunda features such a style.
The University’s Project Services division and W. A. Lynch Roofing Company are planning to replace all of the slate roofs on the East Range, and all the flashings, ridge caps and gutters that entails.
Hotel D, located on the East Range, was one the first buildings to be constructed in Jefferson’s Academical Village. Initially used as a dining hall when it opened in 1821, it has been used for a variety of University events. Fencing, boxing and dancing classes have been held in Hotel D. It was also the home of the first University Proctor Arthur S. Brockenbrough, who Jefferson appointed to supervise construction before his death in 1826.
In the late 19th century, the historic Hotel D was used for the University’s Alumni Association. Today, it houses the Teaching Resource Center.
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