Photo courtesy of Jessie Bryant Roofing, Memphis, Tenn.
Photo courtesy of Jessie Bryant Roofing, Memphis, Tenn.
The Clifford Davis Federal Building, Memphis, Tenn., was constructed in the 1970s and named for Clifford Davis, a politician who served as a Memphis city judge from 1923-27, Memphis' vice mayor and public safety commissioner from 1928-40, and a Democratic U.S. representative from 1940-65.
On Jan. 31, 2007, H.R. 753 was introduced to redesignate the building as the Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal Building to honor Judge Odell Horton's significant contributions to Memphis' legal community.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which constructs, manages and preserves government buildings—including the Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal Building—received $5.5 billion in funds from The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which the GSA is using to reduce energy consumption in its buildings, improve the environmental performance of its real estate inventory, reduce its backlog of repair and maintenance needs, and increase its overall value. The Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal Building is one of the buildings that received funding for repairs and renovations. Part of these repairs included replacing the building's existing roof system.
APEX3 Construction, Mobile, Ala., the project's general contractor, invited Jessie Bryant Roofing, Memphis, to submit a bid for the project's reroofing portion.
"We were asked to do a roof survey and give our recommendations to reroof the building," says Charles White, president and co-owner of Jessie Bryant Roofing. "We suggested using a Johns Manville 80-mil-thick fully adhered TPO roof system. We then submitted a quote for the job and were awarded the project."
Reroofing work
A Jessie Bryant Roofing crew of eight workers and one foreman began tearing off the 11-story building's existing 28,000-square-foot roof system in July 2009.
"The roof has 4-foot-tall parapet walls and a 28-foot-tall penthouse," White says. "We tore off the existing roof system down to the concrete deck, removing the existing fully adhered PVC membrane and tapered polyisocyanurate insulation that was installed in foam adhesive."
After the tear-off was removed from the site, Jessie Bryant Roofing crew members installed a Johns Manville ENRGY 3® tapered polyisocyanurate insulation system with 1/4-inch-thick Invinsa® Roof Board as a cover board.
"Because of noise issues with the courtrooms below and dew point considerations, we installed a minimum number of concrete fasteners, and a 60-mil-thick EPDM temporary roof was loose-laid over the area," says Don Dohmen, Jessie Bryant Roofing's vice president and co-owner. "This was sealed temporarily to the new and existing roof systems. Our crew members came in the next morning to remove the temporary roof system and install the proper number of fasteners and then installed a fully adhered 80-mil-thick TPO roof membrane.
"We would have liked to install more insulation, but the wall height at the penthouse would not allow us to increase the R-value," Dohmen continues.
Additionally, crew members installed new edge metal on the penthouse using Johns Manville's Presto Lock™ Fascia System. A stainless-steel counterflashing was installed on the walls on the lower roof area.
"An Eagle Mobile Safety Cart was used to tie off crew members who were working on the penthouse," White says.
Jessie Bryant Roofing had to work around time restrictions during the project.
"The building's courtrooms are on the top floor, so noise was an issue from the beginning," White says. "The judges would not tolerate any noise after 7 a.m. We started work at 2 a.m. every day."
Access issues
Although daily time restrictions were a challenge, the primary problem Jessie Bryant Roofing faced during the project was accessing the building; the project's location offered little staging area on the ground, and all materials had to be unloaded from delivery trucks two blocks from the building and driven to the site on a small forklift.
"There is a trolley line in front of the building, a plaza with a fountain on one side and a three-story underground parking garage on the other side," White says. "The back of the building faces Front Street, which is downtown Memphis' Main Street."
This left the adjacent underground parking garage's top level—which is at ground level—as the only area from which materials could be lifted to the roof. However, Jessie Bryant Roofing's only means of lifting material to the roof was a 175-ton hydraulic crane, which presented weight concerns for the parking garage and would have required closing down three lanes of traffic—not a viable option during busy weekdays.
"This would have left us only weekends to maneuver materials on and off the building, which would have put the project way over budget," White says.
Jessie Bryant Roofing considered using an A-frame mechanical hoist but ultimately decided against it.
"To reach the penthouse would have required the use of two mechanical hoists and twice the handling of materials," White says. "Also, hoisting systems have limitations: Capacity is limited as is reach from the edge of the building."
Jessie Bryant Roofing previously had used a self-erecting crane from Cherokee Erecting Co. LLC, Hampton, Ga., for another project, so White asked the company whether it could offer a product that would be functional for use on the federal building. Cherokee Erecting suggested using a Maeda Mini Crane with a 39-foot boom length, which could be hoisted to the building's rooftop.
"After checking the building to make sure it could support the weight of the mini crane, we closed Front Street for four hours on a Saturday morning and used the hydraulic crane to lift the mini crane to the roof," White says. "The mini crane's boom allowed us to access the ground (avoiding the limestone fascia façade that extends 3 feet from the sides of the building), main roof and penthouse roof with one setup. The crane could lift materials from the ground, turn and set the materials on the roof or penthouse. Tear-off debris was lowered to the ground with the same crane."
According to White, the crew members were comfortable using the mini crane because of its many safety features and a remote operating feature.
"Cherokee Erecting performed a two- to three-hour hands-on training session with our crew," he says.
A job well-done
Jessie Bryant Roofing finished its work on the Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal Building in December 2009; the project was delayed because of problems with the existing concrete walls and limestone fascia taking in water.
But overall, White is happy with the finished roof system, as well as the experience.
"We had no interruption to court or building services during reroofing," he says. "This is a high-profile building in downtown Memphis, and the job's complexity and uniqueness made for an interesting experience. We are grateful to have been part of the job."
Ashley St. John is Professional Roofing's associate editor.
Project name: Clifford Davis and Odell Horton Federal Building
Project location: Memphis, Tenn.
Project duration: July-December 2009
Roof system type: TPO
Roofing contractor: Jessie Bryant Roofing, Memphis, Tenn.
Roofing materials manufacturer: Johns Manville, Denver
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