Fairbury Firehall Needs A New Roof

Work has begun on the roof of the City of Fairbury’s Firehall on D Street. Several months ago, water was reported leaking through the ceiling in several locations during the last rainstorm. Water also leaked and ran down one of the walls where the electrical box is located. In order to prevent further damage to the building, the city requested quotes to repair the roof. Two suppliers, Black Diamond Exteriors, LLC and Chappell Roofing, Inc., responded.City staff recommended replacing the roof with metal, which is expected to require less maintenance and have a longer life.The estimated cost from Black Diamond Exteriors to repair the firehall roof was $4,200, using 26 gauge metal. Chappell Roofing, Inc., quoted a cost of $5,800, using 24 gauge metal.The bids were presented to the Fairbury City Council. On the agenda for the city council meeting on Tuesday, July 20, was the approval of the bid from Black Diamond Exteriors. However, while Black Diamond Exteriors had the lower bid, when the item came up for a vote, Councilperson Douglas Brown said, “I did a little looking into this project. Black Diamond bid 26 gauge metal and Chappell roofing bid 24, so that had me curious.”Brown indicated he spoke with someone at Chappell Roofing, who explained the difference between the different gauges. Metal gauge indicates the standard thickness of metal and is indicated by a number. As the number increases, the thickness of the metal decreases.Brown said, “But anyway, I don’t know a lot about roofing, but I have loaded a fair amount of sheet metal in my lifetime. And there’s a significant difference between 24 gauge and 26 gauge.”Councilperson Kelly Davis said, “For $1,600 difference, if we can get five or six years out of it, I think we’re money ahead. And according to the bids, the estimates, Chappell’s tearing off the old roof and Black Diamond doesn’t say anything about tearing it off. It’s an underlayment. So that’s a big deal. I’m not ever a fan of putting a roof over a roof, because if the new roof leaks, you don’t know until its really too late. So that’s my feeling.”Brown made a motion to accept the Chappell Roofing’s bid rather than the lower bid, “I think we got one chance to do this right.”An allocation of $25,000 was earmarked in the Fiscal year 2021-2022 budget for repairs to maintain the Firehall.

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