Winter is usually a huge challenge for roofing work, but in this case, working with hot bitumen helped our team install this roof effectively with minimal disturbance to building operations.
Specs:
Type of Project: Full Roofing Replacement
Square Footage: 75,793
Roof Membrane (Field Area): 3 plies type 4 glass, 1 ply #15 perforated felt paper, asphalt and gravel
Flashing Membrane: 2 ply SBS modified bitumen. (click here to learn more about roofing membrane types).
Insulation: 0.5″ perlite board + 1.5″ ISO
Vapour Retarder: Kraft Paper
Deck Type: Metal
Special Considerations: Highly Flammable Environment
Challenges:
The interior of this building housed a factory that produced felts for furniture, making it an extremely flammable work environment. As mentioned in our method, extensive electrical connections and substrate repair/replacement were a necessary part of this project, so every precaution necessary was taken. We replaced extensive substrate replacement (over 20%) partially overworking machinery, and all production areas required interior fire rated tarping to ensure the safety of the structure, inventory, plant machinery and employees working below.
Our Approach:
Because this project was completed during colder winter temperatures, we chose to work with hot asphalt which allowed for a wider number of available working days. This method also ensured a reliable night-seal between new and old roof areas, which is especially important for winter projects with sudden unexpected changes in weather. The old roofing assembly was composed of multiple layers of different, often incompatible, materials. We were able to effectively seal the roof membrane and limit traffic on the old roof membrane to minimize issues during the period of construction.
Our Method:
The deck substrate for this structure was severely corroded, and significant deck substrate replacement was required. The substrate had been recently painted, so it was initially difficult to assess the true condition of the deck substrate.
1. Diagnosed the state of the substrate and identified damaged areas.
2. Arranged for third party interior tarping using client-supplied non-flammable materials.
3. Repaired localized areas of minor surface deck substrate corrosion using wire scraping brushes and approved metal deck primer.
4. Replaced localized areas of deck substrate using bolted connections instead of welding due to the highly flammable environment. We planned a schedule for deck replacement and temporary relocation of product and tarping of machinery, as needed, with the building occupants to minimize downtime and allow their production to continue without stoppage.
5. The roof assembly consisted of 2 and 3 layers to be removed.
6. We had to maintain watertight conditions within the premises during roofing construction.
The planning and execution of this project was a challenging one for our team! Given the highly flammable nature of the factory, fire safety during the replacement was our top priority, and we are happy to say that our precautions were successful.
If you’re looking to learn more about roofing replacements, click here. Or, click here to see more of our industrial projects.
