When it came to repairing the leaky turret atop the 22-story Detroit Towers condominium complex, gaining access was the key to the project.

Scaffolding was impossible. A suspended basket proved to be out of the question.

But a worker with a harness and a lifeline fastened above could gain full access to rappel on the copper-clad turret, and complete the job relatively easily. That worker turned out to be Steve Smith, a project manager of Milbrand Roofing Co.'s Building Restoration Division, who did a job the building's owner couldn't find anyone else to do.

The wind had blown off two pieces of the turret's copper cladding, and a good deal of caulking was needed. The Milbrand shop fabricated the copper panels, and Smith did the installation with a roof-top assist from his brother, Mike, a Milbrand superintendent.

"I had the easy job, I handed him the tools," said Mike. Before they started the work, Mike said the brothers scoped out the inside of the turret, "which was basically a bunch of railroad ties made into the shape of a cone, which were banded together. We looked very carefully for a secure place to tie off, and we found it was pretty solid."

Steve concurred. "I've been doing this stuff for 27 years, and you don't last that long without being very confident in where you're tying off," he said.

Built in 1922, the posh Gothic high-rise off of Jefferson on Detroit's riverfront is home to many affluent residents, and has been compared to New York's Dakota apartments.

"It took a while for me and our insurance company to find someone to get in here to do this," said property manager Jim Matzke, "because everybody was talking about bringing in a 200-foot crane, which is too big for the driveway. Along came Steve Smith, and he had the perfect solution. I'm very happy with the job."

The building's signature turret was waterproofed in a single day.

"The first time of the season I might think about the heights a little, but after that, it doesn't enter my mind. I love it up there," Steve Smith said. He has also rappelled on the Ambassador Bridge and the One Detroit Center skyscraper. "There's a job to do and you do it. There's no one else up there and the scenery is unbelievable."

MILBRAND ROOFING Co.'s Steve Smith rappels on the Detroit Towers turret.