The Pearl Company, Hamilton, ON

A surprising event happened recently in Hamilton, The Pearl Company announced it was shutting down. The Pearl Company is a cultural enterprise owned and operated by Barbara Milne and Gary Santucci in the Landsdale neighbourhood of Hamilton. The reasons given for their decision to pull out was that they were no longer willing to fight City Hall in a long-running zoning dispute, which apparently has cost them a lot of money over the years.

The Pearl Company has been instrumental in bringing cultural events to one of the most distressed neighbourhoods of Hamilton. It is well known locally for putting on an almost absurdly large number of musical, theatrical and artistic performances in their converted industrial space. They also operate the successful Art Bus, which conducts tours of Hamilton’s art galleries twice a month. By all accounts, and from personal experience, their cultural contribution to the city is of the first order. They are the energizer bunnies of cultural entrepreneurship within the city. In any sensible regime they would be made heroes of urban renewal or be given the keys to the city. But not here.

There has been some discussion about the procedures involved in zoning applications and whether these procedures were followed, but the bottom line is that the good The Pearl Company is doing is readily apparent while the bad they might be doing is not apparent at all.

Development resulting from cultural initiatives such as the James St North Art Crawl gets a lot of press in Hamilton. But running The Pearl Company out of town seems not only to be a bad idea, it seems like a crazy idea. What would be ‘no-brainers’ in other places [e.g. supporting venues like The Pearl Company] are controversial here. Could this be another example of Hamilton shooting itself in the foot? Has Hamilton completed its transition from the ‘Ambitious City’ to one in which no good deed goes unpunished? Many people seem to think so.

Polarization

What newcomers to Hamilton quickly learn is that how they view the city may be diametrically opposed to how many long term residents view the city. We see the same place but may come away with sharply differing conclusions. This disparity of perspective is typical of polarized social, economic and political environments, which I suppose is what we have here in Hamilton. In some respects it is like a northern industrial version of the Deep South. Some benefit from the status quo while others do not.

The epicentre of polarized viewpoints is in the Lower Town of Hamilton and most particularly in its East End near King and Steven — exactly where The Pearl Company bravely set up shop. This is Hamilton’s Downtown Eastside. Poor people tend to live in this part of town, rich people elsewhere, and never the twain shall meet.

Micro-managing investment

You would think that a poverty-stricken city like Hamilton would try to encourage as much private investment as possible in this age of declining public coffers. Yet, City Hall appears to chase away people with real money to invest – with a stick. This city is not always open for business.

City Hall in its planning policies seems to have a preference about where private money ought to be spent. It has a desire to funnel investment into officially-sanctioned areas such as James St North, Locke and Ottawa Streets. These are attractive areas, with great potential to be sure, but what about the rest of the city? Neighbourhoods such as Landsdale are ignored and marginalized even though physically and architecturally there is not much difference between it and its more fashionable cousins.

Surely the city should focus on the fact that money is being invested rather than on where it is being invested. Trying to micro-manage private investment decisions through the planning and building departments seems absurd.

The power structures of some cities work against artists while some work against business people. In Hamilton they manage to work against both these camps. Those on both the left and the right wings of the political spectrum can experience the neglect of City Hall!

Marginalization of neighbourhoods

Hamilton, partly due to its archaic planning and zoning systems, intentionally concentrates poverty in areas such as Landsdale. Despite this concentration of poverty one can easily see the attraction of opening an arts and performance space in the middle of it. This is what normally happens in cities lucky enough to have entrepreneurs like the Pearl Company’s owners: investment takes place in distressed neighbourhoods since costs there are low. Fighting City Hall year on end obviously adds to investors’ costs.

In the US, neighbourhood marginalization and red-lining often has a racial component. But not so much in Hamilton — ethnic minorities can be found in most parts of the city. Here, marginalization is more poverty and environmentally based, with poor people coming in all colours.

Another important factor in the marginalization of neighbourhoods is environmental degradation. As in many cities, especially those with heavy industry, the East End is poorer than the west due to prevailing winds and the particulates they carry. Anything near or downwind of a steel plant is bound to suffer some marginalization. But this does not explain The Pearl Company’s case since areas further east of it that are much closer to the belching furnaces (e.g. Ottawa St) are on the upswing.

Architectural resources

One of Hamilton’s greatest resources is the huge number of old brick warehouse buildings that dot Lower Town and elsewhere. The Pearl Company is an excellent example of adaptive reuse for this type of building. It is surprising how few of these industrial buildings are converted into productive uses as you might see in larger centres. This huge resource exists here but is not being exploited. Indeed, City Hall appears to actively discourage its exploitation. This is puzzling.

Conclusion

There is a battle of ideas going on here but it’s difficult to sort out exactly what kind of ideas are in play. The politics are certainly parochial, the processes of neighbourhood marginalization are severe and the planning policies appear to be self-defeating. However, I can’t quite understand this situation.

What The Pearl Company episode does suggest is that private investment in unfashionable areas of Hamilton is extremely risky even though some of these areas appear to be full of economic potential.

This can’t be good.

Mill finish Galvalume standing-seam roof by C.O. Beck, Maine

This week I had the unpleasant task of telling Art Barker, a local roofer who specializes in standing-seam roofs, that I would not be using him to replace our roof. The reason that it was unpleasant was not only the disappointment that Art would feel for not getting the contract but also because I really wanted a standing-seam roof for our home [specifically, a mill finish Galvalume Plus standing-seam roof]. I had searched far and wide for the best roof available and I had found it.

Art certainly seemed like a talented, responsible roofer who had a real love of fine roofs. Art sold me on the benefits of standing seam roofing, but I was not too hard to convince. I was already convinced before I had even talked to Art. He had just confirmed my suspicions that standing-seam was perhaps the most attractive roofing technology available for pitched roofs.

Standings-seam roofs are common in commercial and institutional buildings but are rare for houses in this country. The reason I couldn’t get a standing-seam roof for myself is that I couldn’t afford one; they are more expensive than other roofs. Standing-seam roofs are the top of the line. The Cadillac solution. There are other metal roofs available that attempt to duplicate the quality of a standing-seam roof without having to mechanically bend metal during installation to form the standing seam. These, however, do not seem nearly as elegant as a well-installed standing-seam roof by someone like Art.

Metals such as lead, copper and galvanized steel have been used on roofs for a long time. St Paul’s Cathedral in London has a beautiful lead roof that withstood the Blitz. At Dundurn Castle, near our home in Hamilton, some of the roofs there have beautiful copper and lead detailing. Slate tiles are also a traditional choice for high quality historical roofs in the area. Slate though costs a fortune and requires a much stronger roof structure.

Galvalume, which is an aluminum-zinc alloy coating over a steel core, seems like it would last forever. Standing seam creates a mechanically-fixed layer of solid metal over your whole roof. Art would supply hidden fixings for the metal panels. Installing a standing-seam roof is like sewing a fine suit. Its quality depends not only on the quality of the material but on how well the material is bent and stitched together. I was convinced, and remained convinced, that a standing-seam roof would indeed last forever.

Why do I prefer standing-seam roofs? Two main reasons: Longevity and other green factors, and Appearance.

Longevity and other Green Factors

Your typical asphalt or fiberglass roof lasts possibly 20-25 years. Even though 40 or 50 year shingles are advertised I don’t buy it. A standing-seam metal would last at least twice that of an asphalt roof. I think a roof by Art would last 75 years, long after the house we live in has new owners.  Standing-seam roofs have inherent mechanical advantages over shingle roofs. That means they should survive high winds, bright sun and freezing rain much better than a few layers of gunk-infused fiberglass with a light gravel coating. Things that last a long time have an inherent quality about them. The 18 year old Toyota Tercel that is parked on our street has such a quality. It’s almost like you become a more responsible citizen by purchasing such a product.

A standing-seam roof is built of recyclable material, none of which should end in a landfill after it is replaced. Metal appears to be much more chemically inert compared to asphalt and does not leach toxic chemicals. The higher reflectance of a metal roof reduces cooling loads in the summer.

When an asphalt roof fails and must be replaced all of its material goes straight into landfill. It is not-recyclable. They probably leak toxic waste once in the landfill. The rain that falls on them before that must also leach toxic chemicals, which mixes with groundwater.

Appearance

Metal roofs can come with a mill finish, for those who favour an industrial look, and also in many colours. The quality and longevity of coloured coatings can vary. The darker the colour, the lower the solar reflectance and the higher the cooling loads.

A mill finish Galvalume roof does not appeal to everyone. It looks shiny and its industrial look does not suit all styles of buildings. It might look a bit like a barn but that is fine by me. It looks like the kind of roof that architects would put on their own home. I expect a mill finish Galvalume roof would start shiny but would age over time to a medium grey patina.

Asphalt shingle roofs look fine when they are new. However, when they are at the end of their lifespan they curl and fade and do not look very good. A journey through some of the poorer neighbourhoods of Hamilton or Lackawanna, NY will show you how age treats older asphalt shingle roofs: they do not age gracefully. I have seen asphalt roofs that are only eight years old that have begun to take that slide into decrepitude. This seems like very poor value for your money.

Disadvantages of metal roofs

Admittedly, there are some real disadvantages to metal roofs:

• Expense: they always are going to cost more than shingles
• Availability: it takes some effort to find a roofer who can install one
• Noise: if there is a gap between the roof deck and metal a resonating chamber could form that can make quite a racket during a hail or rain storm
• Prominence: metal roofs, especially if they are shiny, will make your house stand out from others on your street
• Snow shedding: snow on your roof can form a large mass which could slide from your roof all at once and damage vehicles or people beneath

Why are asphalt shingle roofs so common on houses in North America?

If you look over the residential roofscapes of Hamilton, or any other North American city, all you see are asphalt shingle roofs. Why is this? Hamilton is a steel city that even produces Galvalume sheeting in its steel mills. Where are all the metal roofs?

Some possible reasons why asphalt shingle roofs are so common:

• Expense: asphalt roofs for normal residential buildings are the cheapest solution. Initial costs are a deciding factor for many
• Shifting the expense to the next owner: people put on new roofs and anticipate that they will not own the house when it is time to replace the roof
• Familiarity: everyone seems to get a asphalt shingle roof when they need to replace a roof
• ‘Big’ asphalt and availability: roofers who can re-roof your house quickly with asphalt shingles are everywhere. Standing-seam or other metal roofers are much less common and much harder to find
• Home building industry: new home builders like to reduce their costs, in the absence of a perceived demand for a higher quality product
• Absence of green policy: lack of government or policy incentives to encourage greener, longer-lasting residential roofs

More expensive but not that much more expensive

Art’s price for standing-seam was about 25% more than the highest quote for a conventional roof. This doesn’t seem like much more to pay for what seems like a much higher quality product, especially when the environmental benefits are factored in.

By way of example, you can buy an inexpensive new car for about $14,000. 25% over that price would be $17,500. Say you were deciding between a cheap car for $14,000 or $17,500 for the greenest car available, which would last two or three times as long and establish you as a person who votes for green initiatives with their wallet. I think most people would go for the more expensive product, if they could afford it.

What surprised me with my experience of pricing standing-seam roofs was not how expensive Art’s roof would be but rather how small the difference would be over a conventional shingle roof. If I had just a little bit more money – and it disturbs me that I don’t – I would spring for Art’s standing-seam roof. I have chosen instead to put on a much cheaper metal roof (almost half the price of Art’s). This roof will look similar in that it is made of Galvalume Plus but has exposed fixings. This means that across the roof there are holes in the surface of the metal, as opposed to concealed fixings where holes are hidden beneath a layer of metal. Metal roofs with exposed fixings are commonly found on barns in rural parts of Ontario. If I’m lucky this roof should look fine, keep out the rain and may last about 25 years.

For those in the Hamilton or Niagara region of Ontario looking for a top-quality standing-seam metal roofer, I suggest you call Art Barker at (905) 296-2102.