ANN ARBOR - In 1872, seven years after the Civil War ended and the year in which Ulysses S. Grant was re-elected president, roofers put a slate roof on the city's First Congregational Church.

This fall, Local 149 roofers from Detroit Cornice and Slate carefully removed that roof and replaced it with slate that will likely last another 132 years.

"It's a phenomenal roofing system; there's nothing like slate," said Detroit Cornice and Slate Supt. Kurt Hesse. "We brought down all the old slate to our yard, and we'll be able to use it to make repairs on other roofs. There's some spalling in the old slate, but the integrity is just great."

The old roof was leaking in a few areas and some of the iron nails that were used to hold the slate in place were failing, causing some slate pieces to loosen and fall. While the slate was still in very good condition, Hesse said the tar-paper underlayment had been reduced to "toast," especially on the southern exposure.

But there was "absolutely nothing wrong" with the one-by-six, tongue-and-groove wooden roof deck, Hesse said.

A crew of six roofers and sheet metal workers worked two months and installed 10,500 square-feet of the new slate with copper nails, as well as replacing copper downspouts, flashing, valleys and gutters.

"You can't knock a roof that's lasted more than 130 years," Hesse said, "but we put up a better roof than the original craftsmen. First of all we have better tools and the copper nails. But you could tell that some of the joints didn't quite line up, and some of the patterns were off by a couple of inches. Our guys did a good job."

ROOFERS Brian Boodan and Rob Dudley of Local 149 and Detroit Cornice and Slate work atop the First Congregational Church.

HERE'S AN AERIAL VIEW of the church, showing the old slate roof. The pattern was repeated with the new roof