PVC ROOFING CASE STUDY

Photo courtesy of SOPREMA, Inc.

Project: Woodridge Middle School
Location: Peninsula, Ohio

The Project: The Woodridge School District located in Peninsula, Ohio, provides its students with the educational opportunities they need to succeed. The district encompasses four educational buildings, from the primary school up to the high school. As a commitment to the community, Woodridge School District focuses its efforts on guiding its youth, planning for the future, and promoting learning for a lifetime.

The Challenge: The determination was made that the existing shingle and PVC roofing on the Woodridge Middle School needed replacement. Like most school projects, there was a limited window of time where a replacement could be done, making for a very tight construction schedule. Nonetheless, there was an emphasis on providing a high-quality, aesthetically pleasing roofing system where all of the different aspects could be addressed and integrated.

The Solution: An integrated roofing approach was undertaken using a series of products from a single manufacturer. A roof cover board made of polyiso insulation board was first placed over the existing roof deck. Then a high-performance, polyester-reinforced thermoplastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) roof membrane was installed to provide a high degree of flexibility and long-term performance. The membrane choice also provided the proven fire and chemical resistance of PVC along with superior weldability, making it easy to conform to complex geometries. It also incorporated a heavy fleece-backed underside and a tan top color. In addition to its superior performance, the PVC membrane allowed for ribs to be welded to its surface, creating a traditional standing-seam metal appearance. The roof gutters were then lined with a rapid-setting polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) primer to promote adhesion to flashing. The flashing was also a high-performance, rapid-setting PMMA liquid resin catalyzed with catalyst powder and combined with fleece to form a flexible, monolithic, reinforced membrane.

The Result: The single source for the roofing products allowed the manufacturer to offer a total system warranty, including the gutter lining. The project was completed in 80 construction days and ready just in time to welcome students back to school.

SBS ROOFING CASE STUDY

Photo courtesy of SOPREMA, Inc.

Project: Airport High School
Location: Columbia, South Carolina

The Project: Airport High School, home of the Eagles, is a public high school offering education for grades 9–12, serving the communities of West Columbia, Cayce, South Congaree, Pine Ridge, and parts of Gaston, South Carolina. It derives its name from its location next to Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

The Challenge: This project was a retrofit application over an existing built-up roof with embedded aggregate. The roof was originally slated to be torn down to the gypsum deck, and a new SBS-modified bitumen roof system was to be installed.

The Preferred Solution: After conferring and considering several alternative approaches, a re-cover solution was identified so that the time and expenses of a tear-off could be avoided. Under this approach, the loose aggregate on the existing roof membrane was vacuumed off and a separator/cover board was installed in hot asphalt. Because of the uneven surface of the remaining embedded aggregate, a dual-density, rigid mineral fiber board was selected. This type of cover board is composed of basalt rock and slag that results in an insulation board with an extremely high melting point. It is also water repellent yet vapor permeable, has a higher-density top surface, and was chosen knowing that it would conform to the uneven surface much better than a rigid cover board would.

The innovative cover board spawned another approach to the membrane by considering a combination product that saved an application step. The selected product is a high-performance panel composed of an SBS modified bitumen base membrane and a high-density mineral wool board. In this case, a high-density mineral fiber board is factory laminated to an SBS modified bitumen base ply reinforced with a tough, dimensionally stable, non-woven polyester mat creating a time- and labor-saving solution. The project was capped off with a fire-retardant, granulated surfaced SBS modified bitumen cap.

The Results: The Airport High School has a new, durable, safe, and cost-effective roof that was achieved through the innovative use of readily available and proven roofing products.