MINDEMOYA—Just in time for winter snow, Friends of the Mindemoya Old School (FOMOS) has announced that the installation of a new roof has begun on the century-old building, a first step in their planned retrofit.
“Our motto is, ‘Building on the past to forge a prosperous, green, creative and inclusive future,’” said Jan McQuay, president of FOMOS. “We’re using locally produced steel roofing made by TerraStar Building Products right here on Manitoulin Island.”
“Steel lasts twice as long as asphalt, and it is recyclable at the end of its life. But that’s not the only green feature of this roof,” continued Ms. McQuay. “As everyone knows, white reflects the sun and black absorbs the heat from the sun. For our roof we chose a light grey colour that will help cut air conditioning costs. It’s literally a “cool roof!”
JD Construction is doing the installation. John Dyke, the owner, started JD Construction three years ago, after working in the building trade for 12 years. He moved his business from Milverton, Ontario to the Mindemoya area in the spring of 2022 and has been very busy with new builds, renovations, decks and more.
“We’ve been making progress in many ways, but the new roof is tangible, beautiful, visible progress,” said Ms. McQuay. “We are deeply grateful to the Douglas A. Smith Family Foundation of Gore Bay who donated $50,000, and to the Trillium Mutual Insurance Company, who donated $10,000 very early on. They showed faith in our ability to turn our vision into reality. We also want to thank the Gervais family for their multi-year donations, TerraStar, Belanger Salach Architects and many other donors and volunteers.”
“We will not disappoint. We’re working with the top-notch architectural firm Belanger Salach in Sudbury,” said Ms. McQuay. “We have a partnership with a charity, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, and last year won the Heritage Conservation Award from the Ontario Historical Society.”
