Rebuilding the Superdome Roof, 2

I certainly would welcome a definitive history of the Superdome roof. I have been told that it originally had a spray foam and coating roofing system. After 25 or so years of service, the spray foam roof was removed and replaced – although not completely – with a mechanically attached roof insulation board and a single ply rubber membrane. This is the system that was in place during Hurricane Katrina.

By the time I came on board with the design team, the decision had been made to replace not only the remnants of the existing roof, the temporary roof (see Part 1), but the metal roof deck as well. This was a concern to me, not from a technical perspective, but from a construction scheduling perspective. Removing/replacing the decking would add a lot of work and therefore time to the construction duration. The engineers had determined that the existing metal deck would not give the necessary service life, and so it would be replaced as part of the re-roofing project.

Research done for previous dome roofs had shown the advantages of a sprayed-polyurethane foam roof system (SPF). The advantages include: a fully adhered system, a monolithic system, reduced material handling, conformance to the substrate, and proven performance. The downside for this application is that the substrate is roll-formed metal decking. The flutes of the metal will tend to telegraph through the spray foam application and be visible at the surface.

The primary design objective is to construct a system that can withstand another hurricane. For this critical factor a SPF system is ideal. Because it is fully adhered to the deck, it will not leave the building unless the decking leaves!

Superdome Roof

Rebuilding the Superdome Roof, 1

I have been honored with the challenges of unique projects in my work career. This year has already brought what I hope to be one of the most famous and visible projects I have had. In January I received a telephone call from my friends at Ellerbe Beckett in Kansas City. I was told that I was about to be added to a conference call in progress with a meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. And with that simple click on the line, I was added to the team working to re-build the Louisiana Superdome.

The story of the Superdome and how it sheltered the victims of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 is well known. There was significant damage to the roofing, primarily caused by the roof top vents blowing off and down the curve of the dome. The tumbling vents, three of twelve came off, ripped the rubber membrane roof. Once that happened the wind pulled most of the membrane off the leeward side. The photo shows one of the remaining damaged vents at the top of the Superdome. Note the large dent and the blown up counter flashing!

Structurally, the Superdome roof held up well. That fact allowed the dome to shelter those gathered within. The rain was able to blow in, however.

An application of spray foam was used to quickly dry-in the dome. This was a Superdome version of a blue tarp and provided a weather barrier. If you have visited an area ravaged by a hurricane, you know how important it is to prevent further damage.

“Roofing” Codes

Recently I was asked to deliver a half-day seminar on the application of the International Building Code (IBC) to roofing. At first, speaking four hours on a single twelve-page chapter seemed impossible. How could this brief chapter be made relevant to an audience that included very few roofing professionals? From a speaker’s perspective, nothing is worse that the prospect of running out of material. From a listener’s perspective, nothing is worse than a speaker with nothing to say.

Putting the presentation together turned out to be relatively straightforward. There are a few roofing terms to define. The IBC says that the roofing system (whatever it is) shall be installed according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions. What turned out to be the interesting part of the PowerPoint presentation was the photos of the different roof systems. Not many people have experience with all the various roof systems on the market today. In addition to the steep slope applications we covered (no pun intended) built-up, modified bitumen, single-plys, sprayed foam and fluid applied roof systems. We were able to discuss some of the selection criteria for roof systems. The benefits and limitations of the roof system types prompted some spirited exchanges. I’ve heard that there are over 600 commercial roof systems available. Sorting through all that keeps my job interesting.

There was something “new” for everyone it seemed. The photos and video clips prompted lots of questions and discussion, which makes for a successful presentation. For me the adage: “the best way to learn is to teach” was certainly true. I learned a lot in my research and even more from the discussions during the presentation.

The CSI Show, Part 2

The 2006 Edition of the CSI Show actually had a “roofing” track. Friday afternoon, March 31, featured three roofing-related seminars. I attended all three. The seminar topics were: “Cool Metal Roofing,” “Roof Cleaning,” and “Roofs, Energy and the Environment.” This last session included the best of the two previous session’s topics. Cool Metal was primarily a presentation on special paint pigments and how they improve the reflectivity and emissivity of metal roofing. Scott Kriner or Akzo Nobel Coatings was the presenter and did a fine job. Dane Bradford and Jennifer Smith presented Roofs, Energy and the Environment. I thought this seminar had the most value to my work, since they were discussing application of the ASHRAE 90.1 energy guide as it relates to roofing. The presentation was on topic, relevant and addressed some questions that I have had.

Of course, attending any conference, convention or show is mostly about networking. CSI is known for providing access to business professionals in the construction industry. I spoke with Paul Bertram, Jr., FCSI, CDT, LEED AP (CSI loves the initials!). He wants to develop a liaison between CSI and the Roof Consultants Institute. Since I am a member of both organizations, I certainly agree with that idea. I hope to be working with Paul and the folks at RCI in the future to share some education ideas and perhaps expand the Roofing seminar track at future CSI Shows.

I also spoke with Ellen Kral, Publisher of the Construction Specifier Magazine. The Specifier is the excellent publication of CSI. Ellen encouraged me to consider writing roofing related articles for publication. Aside from this blog, I’ve never written technical articles for publication. As you are aware, writing is not a natural gift for me!

Oak Park, IL and Mr. Wright

In March, my son and I took a quick spring break road trip to Chicago. We had less than a day to spend in Chicago so we decided to visit Oak Park, IL and tour some of the Frank Lloyd Wright sites. The first stop was the Wright Home and Studio. The early stages of Wright’s style can be seen developing here. The Studio looks like it would have been a stimulating place to come to work. As often happens when I’m touring or visiting a building, the question — what roof would you use? — came up. Very hard to answer, of course, without knowing the construction of the building. There are low slope and steep slope portions. Visit the site: http://tinyurl.com/z4b29 Yes, I know. This photo is not of Mr. Wright's home/sutdio.

Our next stop was the Unity Temple, which was designed by Mr. Wright in 1905. This is an amazing building. If you thought exposed concrete was in style in the 1970s, Mr. Wright was there 65 years ago. The sanctuary is particularly interesting. It can seat 400 people and none are more than 45 feet from the podium. Very impressive. Visit the site: http://www.oprf.com/unity/

The CSI Show, Part 1

The last week of March was the 2006 edition of the CSI Show. This year's event was back in Las Vegas, NV after three years in Chicago, IL. The attendance seemed very good. The registered attendees outnumbered the last event in Las Vegas. This was evident by the "oversold"” education seminars. In some cases, it was required to get in your seat early because there were not enough chairs for everyone.

Wednesday morning was a special treat. Two famous "black cape" architects lectured. The first was "Frank Lloyd Wright" portrayed by Lyman Shepard. I had seen Mr. Shepard before at the Kansas City CSI Chapter 40th Anniversary Banquet. He has a slide rack (no PowerPoint here!) of photos of Mr. Wright's work and delivers an entertaining and informative narration.

The second famous architect of the morning was Mr. Frank Gehry, FAIA. He gave a brief overview of some of his work. Within the course of a couple of hours we were able to enjoy two of the most famous architects of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Up and running!

Welcome to a new blog on the commercial roofing industry.

I have the great pleasure to meet and work with many interesting people around the country. I also enjoy the professional challenges presented by my clients and their buildings.

As a Registered Roof Consultant, I am able to approach each roofing project without bias. I try to not show preference to a particular roofing system type or manufacturer. The motto here is, "Let the building tell us which roof is best." There are many resources to draw from, including contractors, manufacturer's reps, and other roof consultants. I would be remiss if I did not mention my main network, namely the members of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI).

There will be more on these topics in the future. Thank you for your interest.

Bob