Fixing the Church Skylights - Have Your Say!

Have your say using the QR code in the document.
RSVP by Tuesday 2nd April 2024.
​Thank you!

What should Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Coorparoo Parish (OLMC), do to repair the church skylights? What is the best allocation of OLMC’s scarce resources now and into the future?

Background
The skylights still leak.  A primary goal for any building must be to make it waterproof.

Water penetrating through the skylights has damaged the plywood ceilings.  The cost of the ceiling repair is in the order of $85,000.

Catholic Church Insurance (CCI) will repair the consequential damage to the ceilings but will not repair the cause of the leaks i.e. CCI will not repair the skylights.

The skylights have been repaired a number of times over the life of the Church.  Rather than repair the skylights again in the same way as before, expecting a different result, OLMC engaged Bligh Tanner (BT) to inspect the skylights, identify the sources of the leaks and design a solution.

BT identified a number of design flaws in the skylights, including: -

1. The glass panes in the skylight are set in an inverted steel T Bar frame (the frame visible externally from the ground and internally from the floor of the Church).  No sealant manufacturer will warrant their sealant to seal glass to steel but manufacturers will warrant their sealants to seal glass to aluminium.  In the past, as the sealant breaks down, the water penetration into the Church increases.
2. The glass sits on the cross bar of the inverted “T” and below the top of the stem of the inverted “T” allowing water to pool against the inverted “T” frame.  The steel rusts and corrodes allowing water penetration.
3. The steel capping at the apex of the skylights is badly grooved over the top of the stem of the inverted “T” frames allowing water to penetrate through the capping.
4. There is no baffling to reduce water penetration through the vent under each skylight.

BT has designed a solution to cover each side of each skylight with a single piece of glass set in an aluminium frame with a waterproof capping and with baffling. The cost is $1M+.

The Church has been cited as a local heritage place.  Any work on the Church (including the skylights) must be approved by the BCC.

The skylights are temporarily covered with tarpaulins.  Since the tarpaulins were installed in June/July 2023, no water has been observed penetrating the Church skylights.  The cost of the temporary waterproofing is approx. $20,000 per year. $1M would cover this cost many times over.

If OLMC does not repair all the skylights: -

1. CCI may offer OLMC a cash payout in lieu of repairing the Church ceilings: -
           CCI may not cover hidden damage to the ceilings.  The payout will cover only the estimated cost of the repair of the damage identified by observations from the floor of the Church.
2. If OLMC does not repair the skylights or the ceilings, future damage to the ceilings may not be covered by the new insurer (CCI having refused to renew any insurance policies for anyone).
3. The cost of future repairs can only be expected to increase.

OLMC does not have sufficient funds to cover the cost.  OLMC will need to raise at least $600,000 by loan or donations to adopt the Bligh Tanner (BT) proposal.

In addition, other OLMC buildings need repair e.g. the Priory Roof Corners are sagging, and water has penetrated the Priory Roof and is in urgent need of repair.

There are ongoing maintenance and repair costs now and into the future.

The Parish Plant and Resources Committee, the Parish Finance Committee, and the Parish Advisory Council, together with Fr Martinho Da Costa, need your feedback to assist in taking the next steps to waterproof the skylights in a way that works now and is sustainable into the future whilst maintaining resources for other building, maintenance and parish projects. 

Please RSVP by 2nd April by using the QR code below, the following link (https://forms.office.com/r/q6NW779Xey) or the forms in the Church.