Isle roofing

St. Simons Island is the largest of the Golden Isles located along Georgia’s southeastern coast, midway between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. Only 18 square miles, St. Simons Island is known for its moss-draped oak trees, historical charm and pristine beaches, including 3 miles of natural beach.

Named by Travel + Leisure magazine as “America’s Most Romantic Town” and featured on HGTV’s “Island Life,” St. Simons Island is a popular destination for relaxation and recreation. The island’s gated community of King’s Point has 35 homes near Sea Island Golf Club and Retreat that overlook sprawling fairways, marshes, lakes and expanses of the Frederica and Mackay Rivers.

One of the newest custom homes in King’s Point was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, New York City, and constructed by 3181 Construction LLC, St. Simons Island. NRCA member Huber and Associates, Lake City, Fla., was selected as the contractor to install the roofing and siding on the private residence.

Plans and details

The Huber and Associates team began initial work on the King’s Point house in October 2023. Many details were tended to between the on-site and project management teams.

“Before installation began, our project management team, field supervisors and installation crew spent significant time coordinating the details of the roof system,” says Jamin Huber, vice president of Huber and Associates. “This included multiple planning meetings, field measurements, layout mapping, sequencing, and reviewing the unique transitions and custom details. Because of the complexity of the rooflines and the level of finish required, it was important the teams clearly understood the installation plan before and during the project.”

The 8,800-square-foot roof design called for 18-inch-long red cedar shingles to be installed at a standard 5 1/2-inch exposure with an additional design detail of triple-stacking the shingles every seventh course to give the roof more dimension.

With roof slopes ranging from 6 1/2:12 up to a 11:12 slope, the crew used a variety of safety equipment including tie-off anchors, ropes, harnesses and toe boards during the project.

“Given the roof complexity and working conditions, safety planning, access, staging and fall protection were all important parts of the project approach,” Huber says.

As installation day approached, the team’s plan hit a snag.

“Despite the varying slopes among 30 different roof planes, the triple-course lines were to line up at all junctures,” Huber says. “This meant we had to go back to the drawing board to reach a solution.”

The new plan allowed for every triple-stacked course of the main field shingles to seamlessly align with a triple-stacked row from the transitions all the way around the roof.

“We then worked with the on-site installation crew to implement the new design,” Huber says.

Installation

In February 2024, the Huber and Associates team began the roof system installation by applying Owens Corning Titanium® PSU30 high-temperature, self-adhering underlayment with Sure-Foot® technology on the plywood deck followed by a layer of AirCore Falcon™ ventilation mesh. Next, team members installed Western Red Cedar Perfections shingles using 316 stainless-steel nails, triple-stacking the shingles every seven or eight courses per section as required for alignment around the roof.

Additionally, the team installed the house siding using 18-inch Perfections cedar shingles stained in Sherwin-Williams® Orchard Green. The siding design called for installing the shingles in wavy and diamond-shaped profiles—all with different, intricate installation patterns including framing some of the windows at an angle.

“The synchronizing roof courses flowed into the siding, which had its own creative challenges,” Huber says. “Typical of a Robert A.M. Stern project, varying insertions of custom-cut shingles were to grace the walls of the house.”

Huber and Associates craftsmen also custom-fabricated and installed all flashings including chimney flashings, headwall flashing, valley flashings and drip edges using 16-ounce lead-coated copper.

“All the small details and planning came together on the exterior in a truly stunning roof and home overall,” Huber says.

Now to the point

The crew wrapped up roofing work in April 2024, and the siding project was completed in August 2024. Thanks to skillful planning and execution, the King’s Point residence’s roof and siding embody the spirit of the architect’s designs while providing expert workmanship and artisanship.

“The most rewarding part of the project was seeing all the planning, craftsmanship and custom detailing come together so cleanly in the finished roof and walls,” Huber says. “It was a complex project with a lot of moving parts, so seeing the final result, and knowing the client was so pleased with the quality of the work, made it especially rewarding.”

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