Beth Tfiloh Congregation Sanctuary Skylight Installation

Lewis Contractors has recently completed the transformational installation of a new skylight in the sanctuary of Beth Tfiloh Congregation The original skylight installed when the building was constructed had leaked and was roofed over to prevent damage to the building and inconvenience to the congregants during services. At the direction of Rabbi Wahlberg, Lewis was called upon once again to remove the rubber roof and install the new dodecagon shaped skylight, a distinctive feature within the space, more than forty feet above the floor.

All work was completed without need to enter the building itself. Scaffolding was installed near the building’s front entry, a temporary walkway was placed upon the sloped roof and scaffolding erected to provide access to the location of the existing skylight on the roof. Upon removal of 2 sections of the existing skylight, a platform was built on the existing steel compression ring that supports both the glazing and the spire to act as a working platform and also provide protection against falling debris to the interior. This allowed the services and other activities within to continue, and also kept the installation of the new skylight hidden, until the final “reveal. The fabrication of the skylight was done based strictly on the dimensions provided in the drawings, created by McClaren Engineering, rather than by accessing the roof, removing the existing skylight, taking field measurements, and waiting for the skylight to be fabricated for installation. This prevented the building being protected only by some means of temporary roofing for that duration, and minimized installation time once the skylight fabrication was completed. The skylight and new roofing system, as properly installed, then passed the ultimate water test—a large thunderstorm—proving that not only did the change significantly upgrade the sanctuary appearance, but it did not leak as well.