Nestled in a semi-tropical paradise on an arm of the St. John’s River near Jacksonville, Fla., the new Westminster Woods on Julington Creek retirement community offers active seniors an ideal setting. The wooded 90-acre campus combines neighborhoods of detached villas, and garden and waterfront apartment homes featuring metal roofing from Petersen.
“Not only was this a really large job for us, it was extremely complex,” said Robert Wyckoff, sheet metal superintendent at Mac Johnson Roofing Co. in Gainesville, Fla., which installed approximately 150,000 sq. ft. of Petersen’s Snap-Clad standing seam metal roof panels on 47 villa-style homes. “It had about everything a roof could have – dead valleys, skylights, different pitches, walls and windows. All of this required lots of complex detailing. The only thing it didn’t have was chimneys!” The roof material was 24 gauge Galvalume Plus.
Michael Lucas, principal at Basham & Lucas Design Group in Jacksonville, Fla., confirmed that Westminster Woods was a complex installation. “It was a team effort with the owner being very involved in all aspects of the project including the detailing,” explained Lucas, whose firm provided architectural design. “The only other real design challenge was the confinement of the site itself and the required set-backs. The units are nestled right along the St. John’s River – it’s a gorgeous setting. You could almost fish from the porch of several units!”
The individual residences follow a Craftsman style, Lucas continued. “We had used PAC-CLAD on previous duplexes and triplexes constructed within the community several years ago and wanted these new structures to offer the same general look,” Lucas said. Metal roofs are popular with the designers at Basham & Lucas, Lucas went on to say. “We use metal all of the time. Properly designed, metal fits nearly every architectural style and offers great durability.”
Wyckoff has been with Mac Johnson Roofing for many years and is a huge fan of metal. “There’s no fasteners exposed on a metal standing seam roof – the roof will last forever. I’ve replaced metal roofs that were more than 100 years old. I love metal roofing,” said Wyckoff, who added that the Westminster Woods project is one of his favorites. “Everybody loves the finished product. It’s probably one of the nicest metal roofs you’ll ever see.”
The long-term performance of Snap-Clad panels may have been the main objective for specifying the PAC-CLAD roof system, but that wasn’t the only factor. The panels also provide low maintenance and a welcoming, attractive appearance for residents and visitors alike. The panels offer excellent resistance to wind uplift and have Florida Building Code approval. The 16-in. wide panels with striations were produced at Petersen’s Acworth, Ga., plant. All of the trim was fabricated in the Mac Johnson Roofing shop or on-site.
The Petersen distributor was Gulfeagle Supply in Gainesville.