A diamond on the Brazos River

• Photo courtesy of Joe Griffin Photography, Waco, Texas.
• Photo courtesy of Joe Griffin Photography, Waco, Texas.

Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas, Baylor University is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas and the world's largest Baptist university. Its mission is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community.

From its humble beginnings in Independence, Texas, Baylor University's campus has grown to more than 1,000 acres in Waco, Texas, educating more than 15,000 men and women annually to pursue their individual life callings. The university is committed to excellence at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels and is ranked in the top 8 percent of the National Merit Scholars program.

Baylor University has an international reputation for educational excellence built upon the faculty's commitment to teaching, scholarships and interdisciplinary research that produces outstanding graduates. Alumni include CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, surgeons, teachers in third-world countries, missionaries, ministers and professional athletes.

In 2013, Baylor University began building McLane Stadium, a new 860,000-square-foot, 45,000-seat stadium that is more than twice the size of Floyd Casey Stadium, where Baylor Bears football fans spent the previous 64 seasons. The horseshoe-shaped stadium was built on a 93-acre lot and features a TPO membrane roof system with sheet metal flashings and trim installed by Johnson Roofing Inc., Waco, Texas.

"Johnson Roofing is intricately involved with Baylor University and has roofed more than 90 percent of the buildings at Baylor University over the years," says Sherri Johnson McDonald, president of Johnson Roofing. "Three of our company owners are Baylor alumnus, and I currently serve on the Baylor-Waco Foundation Board. We are proud of our Baylor nation!"

Getting to work

Johnson Roofing began its work on McLane Stadium's roof system in October 2013. To complete the project in time for the 2014 football season, Baylor University fast tracked the project, requiring meticulous scheduling and coordination. Concurrent construction of two new bridges over the Brazos River next to McLane Stadium added another challenge as street closings were frequent, causing construction traffic often to be rerouted and delayed.

Once the materials were delivered and the job site was secured, workers were tied-off to begin their work on the massive roof system.

On the stadium's main concourse and upper concourse concrete roof decks, workers loose laid 5/8-inch-thick DensDeck^® Roof Boards followed by 1 1/2-inch-thick polyisocyanurate insulation and another layer of 1/4-inch-thick Dens-Deck Roof Boards with 12 fasteners and plates on each 4- by 8-foot board in the field, 18 fasteners at the perimeter and 32 fasteners in the corners. Workers then installed a walk pad around the kitchen's exhaust fans and adhered more than 132,000 square feet of single-ply 60-mil-thick TPO membrane with bonding adhesive and terminated the membrane at concrete columns with a T-bar and sealant.

At continuing walls, workers installed necessary sheathing to terminate the TPO membrane at base flashings per manufacturer standard flashing height requirements. Wood nailers were installed as required for edge terminations and at serrated walls for standing-seam coping followed by Grace Ice & Water Shield^® over serrated walls, wood blocking and plywood. Workers then installed 9,692 linear feet of .05-inch-thick aluminum standing-seam coping fabricated in Johnson Roofing's sheet metal shop at serrated walls and .05-inch-thick aluminum terminating flashing at roof edges. Johnson Roofing is an authorized fabricator with NRCA's Underwriters Laboratories Inc. certification program for compliance with ANSI/SPRI ES-1.

At the elevators' roofs, workers loose laid 5/8-inch-thick DensDeck Roof Boards and installed a vapor retarder followed by a 2-inch-thick layer of polyisocyanurate insulation and another layer of 1/4-inch-thick DensDeck Roof Boards fastened 12 per board in the field, 18 at the perimeter and 32 in the corners.

At the Level 700 roof, workers loose laid two layers of 2 1/2-inch-thick polyisocyanurate insulation and one layer of 1/2-inch-thick SECUREROCK^® with 20 fasteners on each 4- by 8-foot board in the field, 30 fasteners in the perimeter and 32 fasteners in the corners. Next, workers adhered 60-mil-thick TPO membrane with standard bonding adhesive and installed a 2-foot by 6-inch by 8-foot Bilco^® Type L Roof Hatch and walk pads.

At composite panel locations, workers installed hat channel subframing and 4,600 square feet of aluminum composite panels custom-fabricated by Johnson Roofing sheet metal workers. A 6-mil-thick custom-colored ALPOLIC^® ACM rainscreen system then was installed with panel joints to match curtain wall mullion spacing.

At the scoreboard, Johnson Roofing workers installed 11,800 square feet of Petersen Aluminum 22-gauge 12-inch Vertical Flush Panels in a custom finish over metal framing. The panels required special installation specifications requiring coordination with the manufacturer, architect and general contractor to implement the unique application. The panels were installed on the scoreboard's roof, walls and soffit. Workers also fabricated and installed 22-gauge aluminum trim and a Bilco roof hatch.

Touchdown

After 11 months of planning, coordination and dedicated work, on Aug. 21, 2014, Johnson Roofing successfully completed McLane Stadium's roof system in time for the Baylor Bears 2014 football season.

"The Johnson Roofing team completed this difficult, high-profile project on a challenging completion schedule," says Ben Austin, project manager for Austin Commercial LP, Dallas, the project's general contractor. "They performed with the highest-quality workmanship and were proactive with problem-solving. They have done an outstanding job on the McLane Stadium at Baylor University."

Johnson McDonald says one of the most rewarding parts of the project is being able to see her team's work every day.

"Seeing this beautiful stadium every time I drive down Interstate 35 is truly satisfying," she says. "Knowing we were an integral part of the construction of this diamond on the Brazos River is so rewarding!"

Chrystine Elle Hanus is Professional Roofing's associate editor and NRCA's director of communications.

Project name: McLane Stadium at Baylor University
Project location: Waco, Texas
Project duration: October 2013-August 2014
Roof system types: Aluminum and TPO
Roofing contractor: Johnson Roofing Inc., Waco, Texas
Roofing manufacturers: ALPOLIC^® Materials, Chesapeake, Va.; The Bilco^® Co., New Haven, Conn.; Carlisle SynTec Systems, Carlisle, Pa.; Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC, Atlanta; Petersen Aluminum, Elk Grove Village, Ill.; W.R. Grace & Co., Cambridge, Mass.