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CONTRACTING » Pro Roofs / Apex Metal Roofing
From Buckingham Palace to Auckland Art Museum Karen Phelps Not many roofers can count amongst their clientele Queen Elizabeth and Oprah Winfrey but Auckland roofer Stephen Markham has worked for both. From Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle to the Auckland Art Museum, Stephen has produced wonderful spires, towers, domes, statues, cisterns and planters for his famous clients. The Stephen C Markham collection of individually handmade decorative lead work has attracted celebrities like Gucci, Oprah, Madonna, and Paul Getty. Copper and lead roofing is highly specialized work with architectural qualities and requiring creative flair. At its peak, Stephen’s London based business employed over 30 staff. Now residing in New Zealand, Stephen has brought his skills over this side of the world. He says copper roofing, which is the mainstay of his business in New Zealand, is sought after for restoration and new build projects to add value and flair to buildings. It’s also practical - copper offers an economical long-term solution and fits over irregular shaped structures. As it is a durable and aesthetically pleasing material it suits almost all building with no need for painting. Stephen not only offers copper roofing but also custom built flashings and cladding.
Volume 16 | Issue 1
Always striving to be the best Kelly Deeks Family owned and operated business Apex Metal Roofing offers clients more than 40 years of roofing industry knowledge and strives to meet and frequently exceeds its customers’ expectations.
Copper looks good, doesn’t need any finish and, at the end of it’s life cycle, is recyclable. “Copper is a great material to use for cladding as it’s lightweight, malleable and has high resistance to the caustic effects of mortars and hostile environments giving a long service life. Copper looks good, doesn’t need any finish and, at the end of it’s life cycle, is completely recyclable, which is just another added benefit,” he says. In New Zealand he has worked on both historic buildings and newer ones including a home in Jervois Road where he crafted copper shingles for a roof and Long Bay Church, a project completed by Calder Stewart and overseen by Stephen. Long Bay Church roof was designed and built with EuroTray® copper roofing to fulfil unique protective and decorative requirements resulting in a seamless design and sophisticated finish. Historic projects include Mansion House on Kawau Island and Auckland Museum where Stephen replaced the copper cornice. Recently, he worked for around a year on the new Church of Scientology in Grafton Road where work included internal copper sumps, lead copings and flashings, copper junction boxes and downpipes and lead capped chimneys. Stephen is proud to continue his passion and creativity for copper, lead and zinc roofing and decorative lead work in New Zealand, which is an unsung craft tradition, but one which can add untold value and flair to any project.
Business North
Managing director Chris Gatland says Apex Metal Roofing is an agent for Gerard Roofing products, whose tiles have proven the test of time. “Gerard Roofing’s dedication to quality and innovation, combined with the proven strength and durability of their products, gives them the deserved reputation of world leaders in steel roof tile technology,” he says. “Gerard tiles come in a range of profiles, colours, and finish options to define your style. Lightweight tiles with superior strength, Gerard tiles place significantly less stress on structures than conventional tile roofs. A 10 ton concrete or clay tile roof could weight as little as one ton with Gerard satin finish tiles, or 1.7 ton with Gerard textured tiles. “With a lightweight roof you don’t have to worry about boosting up the lintels or the floor joists, whereas with a conventional tile roof you’ve got to boost all the walls up so they can cope with something like 10 ton of concrete or clay,” Chris says. “When those conventional tiles get wet, that weight goes up to something like 20 ton, especially with older tiles.” With no additional fastenings or special materials, Gerard’s interlocking tile system has been proven to withstand wind loading of more than 6kPA, which is equivalent to a wind speed of 350kph, while other roofing systems require specialised fastenings and or materials for high wind zones. Even at the edge of the seaside, Gerard roofs don’t require any special materials, additional
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coatings, or extra fastenings to ensure ongoing performance. Testing shows that zinc-aluminium coated steel roofing materials, such as Gerard pressed steel, have up to eight time the corrosion resistance of other steel roofing products. Gerard tiles incorporate UV protection technology and special light-fast pigments which provide superior resistance against fading and discolouration, and they exceed the world’s most stringent fire test standards. Chris says Gerard tiles give shape to a home, and while for many people, choosing a roof is primarily about style, equally important is peace of mind. “People want to feel confident their roof will continue to protect their home and its precious contents even under the most extreme conditions imaginable,” he says. “Gerard roofs have been thoroughly proven over time right throughout New Zealand, and in more than 120 countries around the world.” Chris’s family business includes his daughter Terri running the office and his son Kelvin, one of his roof fixers. The younger generation is helping Chris to get his head around the increasing amount of paperwork which is taking up more and more of his time and profit. “I left school at 15 years old because I didn’t like paperwork, and now I’ve got more than I ever had there,” he says. However Terri is great at dealing with it, and she and Kelvin are now making most of the big business decisions without Chris’s input. “Because they’re eventually going to be running this business differently to how I’ve done it,” Chris says. “I just go to work and push through everything that’s in front of me.” Apex Metal Roofing works with its clients to ensure all their roofing needs are met, whether they are building a new home, adding an extension to their existing home, or re-roofing, Apex Metal Roofing has it covered.