Shiny roof on new St. Catherine of Siena church on Hamilton Mountain being covered

Drivers in the Rymal Road East and Upper Sherman Avenue area won't have to squint for much longer.

Thomas Vert, deacon of the St. Catherine of Siena parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, said the shiny metal roof on their new church under construction at 620 Rymal Rd. E. is just the first of three roof layers.

There's the main decking, which is the shiny part which you see, which hopefully will be (covered) very soon," Vert said. The second layer is insulation and then the third, we put a plastic membrane for waterproofing and a charcoal-grey steel roof."

Vert said the second layer (that looks like plywood) should be added by mid-September and the 30,000 steel panels on the surface layer of the roof should be installed by late October.

The new building is about 50 per cent complete.

All the concrete has been poured on the floors," Vert noted. We're now working on the roof and all the studs for the walls are starting to go up."

A cross was added to the roof a few weeks ago.

Vert said the new church should be completed by May or June of next year.

The St. Catherine of Siena parish was created in 2017 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton merged the Our Lady of Lourdes and Corpus Christi churches on the Mountain.

Proceeds from the sale of the Our Lady of Lourdes and Corpus Christi sites are expected to cover most of the costs of building the new church.