The Steel of Dreams
When a little steel goes a long way
Story: Daniel Banko
Photography: Daniel Banko
Lake Huron’s scenic coast, with its clear blue waters and sandy beaches, is dotted with historic Victorian-era towns and hamlets. One such town is Tiverton, a community of about 750 people located minutes from the shores of Lake Huron, in the Municipality of Kincardine, Bruce County.
Tiverton has a quaint downtown, dotted with a mix of old and new builds, including distinct yellow brick heritage buildings alongside new homes being constructed in response to the population growth driven by the expansion of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, commonly known as Bruce Power. In fact, Tiverton sits just minutes from the site itself.
If you know, you know
Those who live there love it. Summers are filled with majestic sunsets, a thriving agriculture and tourism economy, and a noticeable absence of big box stores. In many ways, it feels like a place time forgot, with a strong sense of community rooted in its small size. In the winter, that sense of community matters even more, given the challenges of living in a remote area, especially when roads and highways are closed by snowdrifts twelve feet high or more and snow loads become extreme for a Southwestern Ontario community.
It was communities like Tiverton that drew many people during the COVID 19 pandemic. Property values were more affordable than in neighbouring cities, allowing people to make the move while still having room to pursue long held dreams or take entrepreneurial risks, like opening a restaurant or small retail store. Little Blue House Coffee Co. was one of those dreams, one of the many positive outcomes that are sometimes overlooked from that period.
Located in the heart of Tiverton, just a few doors down from the main intersection, a pair of would-be entrepreneurs noticed a listing for a tiny yellow house. The 700 square foot building was home to a small shop run by a local couple who had been part of the community for decades. Locals knew it as The Fudge Place, famous for its award winning fudge and eclectic bric a brac. Every square inch of the interior was filled with merchandise, with drywall supported by nails and pins. The exterior was painted a vibrant shade of yellow, partly as a nod to the mellow yellow of the local brick and partly to act as a beacon for drivers who would otherwise miss the store while passing through town.
It had a steel roof
“And it had a steel roof,” the property owner said excitedly. “The steel roof was one of the main features of the building when we first looked at it. We thought to ourselves, okay, this place will definitely need some work, but the roof is steel so we won’t need to replace that at all,” they said with a smile.
“We saw the building as an opportunity, something to give us purpose during the pandemic. We were not sure what it would become until we started fixing it up. As we worked on the exterior, neighbours stopped by to introduce themselves, say hello, and ask what we planned to do with the place. Every single one of them mentioned how nice it would be to have a little coffee shop in town. Tiverton needed a daytime gathering spot, so that is what it became, The Little Blue House Coffee Shop, after a few coats of blue paint to hide the yellow, of course. The neighbours actually applauded when we painted it blue,” they recall with a grin.
“As we were nearing completion of the renovations we looked at the place and thought it looked perfect, except for the bow in the old roof. To be fair, the original steel roof looked like it was over 70 years old. And it might have been with how faded the colours were. The building was built as a tack shop in the mid-1800’s, before it became the local women’s institute and later the town library. I’m sure that roof could tell a lot of stories…Anyway, after all the work we had done, we decided it was time to invest in a new one. We called Hy-Grade. It was an easy decision, since many of our neighbours with steel roofs had used them as well.”
Making the call for Hy-Grade
Hy-Grade Steel Roofing has been manufacturing and installing steel roofs since 1988. Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario and with satellite facilities in the snow belt towns like Orillia, they understand extreme weather, especially in areas like the snow belt where there are still often only two seasons, harsh winters and scorching summers.
Hy-Grade prides itself on using Canadian steel, another consideration for the property owner, as they wanted to source everything from roasted coffee beans to building materials, as locally as possible. The new roof uses 26-gauge G90 galvanized steel, poured by ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton and then cut and stored for Hy-Grade by Color Steels in Vaughan. Hy-Grade then presses the panels into an aesthetically pleasing shake style that comes in seven colours. Engineered for strength, the Hy-Grade system is designed to handle snow loads as well as expansion and contraction in fluctuating temperatures.
“Not only did we want to source locally, we also wanted to work with a company that would stand behind its warranty if anything went wrong. This was an investment for us in many ways, and we wanted to protect it. Though Hy-Grade was recommended to us, we still did our research. Knowing the company had been around for nearly 40 years and that its suppliers had been around even longer made the decision an easy one,” the owner said.
Coated with a 4-mil-thick PVC coating that expands with the steel, Hy-Grade’s roofing system resists wear and tear from any expansion and contraction that does occur in extreme climates, as well as exposure to UV rays. There is no peeling or cracking.
And, importantly for the property owners, the steel shakes are nailed to double-strapped wood using special fasteners, which level out the bow in the old steel roof. It also provides the added benefit of creating a self-ventilating system, keeping the shop’s energy costs low year-round.
A steel clad investment in community building
“It’s a small shop in a small town. While we understand the return on investment of improving our real estate, any savings we could find in operating costs mattered, especially energy costs. The added value of the air pocket and self ventilation was a real bonus.
People do not usually get excited about spending money on a new roof, at least not anyone I know, but this was exciting for us. It completely changed the profile of the building, gave us peace of mind, and added value in the end. All in all, we would absolutely choose another Hy-Grade roof, but we likely won’t have to.”
SPECIFICATIONS
STEEL FABRICATORS/SUPPLIERS:
Hy-Grade Steel Roofing, Color Steels Inc.
PRODUCT:
26-gauge, G90 Galvalnized Steel
