As last October came to a close, super storm Hurricane Sandy hurled itself at Belmar, N.J., destroying the borough’s popular oceanfront boardwalk and causing heavy damage to businesses and public buildings near the shore — including the loss of several roofs. The hurricane wasn’t tough enough, however, for the newly installed composite slate shingle roof on the historic Belmar Public Library, located slightly more than three blocks from the shore. It did not move an inch, nor did it leak.
“Our new roof immediately got the test of a lifetime from Hurricane Sandy, and it passed,” said Ray Claudio, assistant librarian at Belmar Public Library. “We are very pleased with how well it held up. Unfortunately, the bottom floor of the library didn’t fare so well, with all of the flooding through the streets, but at least we didn’t have to put on another roof.”