A down-to-earth concept for up on the roof
Given that the project Sullivan Vineyards of Rutherford recently undertook involves its roof, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that Sullivan went “straight to the top” with what may be the next good idea in the gradual greening of wine country.
What’s different about the clay tile Cravea installed on the winery roof — approximately 5 1/4 tons spread over 3,500 square feet of area — is that it weighs only about half as much standard roof tile.
That weight savingsis important for several reasons, said Sean Sullivan,
“You don’t have to support your roof as much, so if you wanted to move from a shake roof or a comp(osition) roof you could use this particular tile,” said Sullivan. “Also, it will keep the wine cooler than wood or comp. You don’t have to use as much power and you don’t have to use as much wood — like big, wide mini-struts — to support the roof.”
The lightweight tile for the Sullivan project, said Ronnie Cravea, president of Cravea Roofing, was manufactured by U.S. Tile under the name of Pro Shake. It’s called Pro Shake because it resembles shake roofing material, but in fact is made from pure earth.
“This tile is an all-natural clay product that is fireproof and has been vitrified,” Cravea explained. “It’s always going to retain its natural color, and as the years go by it’s going to get harder. They (Sullivan) will get 100 years out of this. Probably a lot more.”
Sullivan Vineyards is the first venture into wine industry roofing projects for Cravea and is a part of a move into the commercial arena that came after being geared primarily toward residential roofing in the Napa Valley. Among the company’s most recent commercial projects are Alcatraz Island and White Ranch behind v. Sattui Winery.
The new roofing project at Sullivan, including a copper rain gutter system bordering the roof, began last winter.
Cravea said his company stepped into the picture after repairing frequent leaks in the Sullivan building, which was built in 1982.
“They were going to put a shingle roof on the winery,” said Cravea. “We came back and said, you know, the shingle and composition roofs are going to draw a lot of heat to the wine.”
Sean Sulllivan said Pro Shake tile became the solution after it was determined that standard roof or even solar tiles were too heavy.
Sullivan Vineyards matriarch Joanna Sullivan believes the lighter tile roof concept will catch on.
“We were looking for green technology,” she said. “This seems to be lighter and something that will last a while.”