A racing dynasty

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To ensure long-term roof system performance, maintenance is crucial. And it also can help create positive relationships between roofing contractors and building owners that can generate new work.

McRae Roofing Inc., Asheboro, N.C., learned the benefits of creating a maintenance relationship—it has performed roof system maintenance work on Petty Enterprises' complex in Level Cross, N.C., for about two years.

"Petty Enterprises' buildings mostly have metal roof systems," says Tim Allen, president of McRae Roofing. "The most common repairs are loose laps, backed-out fasteners, failed gaskets, broken gutter joints and other typical metal problems."

The complex, headquarters for the Petty Enterprises' NASCAR drivers, features 17 buildings—including those for the company's marketing department, administrative offices, fabrication shop, tire room, body shop and engine room—dedicated to the racing organization with the most wins in U.S. motor sports. Petty Enterprises, founded by Lee Petty in 1949, boasts drivers Kyle Petty, Jeff Green and Christian Fittipaldi. NASCAR legend Richard Petty retired as a driver in 1992.

Because of McRae Roofing's familiarity with the complex's roof systems and relationship with Petty Enterprises' employees, the company was asked to re-cover the Petty Racing Design Project Building, which recently was converted to house the engineering department that designs Petty racecars.

The building

The warehouse building was Kyle's race shop from 1979-84. (He began driving for Wood Brothers Racing Inc., Mooresville, N.C., in 1985 and returned to Petty Enterprises in 1999.) The shop was converted into the Richard Petty Museum because the Petty family needed a location to store trophies, cars and other racing memorabilia. As the Petty family's success continued, more space was needed to store memorabilia. Therefore, the museum was relocated to downtown Randleman, N.C., and opened in October 2003. The Pettys decided the empty warehouse would be a good space for the company's engineering department.

To make the building habitable, its interior and exterior needed to be updated. The building originally featured a 7,550-square-foot (701-m²) fasten-through metal panel roof system with underlying fiberglass insulation. Petty Enterprises wanted a new roof system to ensure the employees, newly created offices, networks and other technical equipment were protected. Also, more insulation was needed in the roof system to lower cooling costs. Another requirement was for the roof system to be attractive—it is visible from the house of Elizabeth Toomes Petty, Lee's widow, whose house is located on the complex.

McRae Roofing was asked to investigate the best roof system for this building and brought Mule-Hide Products, Beloit, Wis., to the project. According to Allen, a Mule-Hide Products self-adhering roof system was chosen "because the roof system had to be good and look good. We didn't believe coatings or thermoplastics would maintain their installed appearance."

This roofing project also gave McRae Roofing the opportunity to expand its roofing repertoire. The company had worked with self-adhering membranes, but this was the first complete self-adhering roof system the company installed.

"This system took us to the next level [of expertise]," Allen explains.

Installation

The eight-person crew began work Dec. 12, 2003, and finished Dec. 21, 2003. Mule-Hide Products gave McRae Roofing installation manuals and training videos well in advance of the project startup. A Mule-Hide Products representative was at the job site to answer questions on the project's start day.

Installation consisted of filling flutes with 1 1/2-inch- (38-mm-) thick polyisocyanurate insulation. After this, a 1 1/2-inch- (38-mm-) thick layer of polyisocyanurate overlayment was installed. Next, two plies of a smooth self-adhering modified bitumen membrane were applied followed by one layer of a granular-surfaced self-adhering modified bitumen membrane. To ensure aesthetic appeal, workers carefully laid out the membranes so seams wouldn't show. Lastly, a 6-inch (152-mm) OG seamless aluminum gutter and downspout were laid in place.

A happy client

Because McRae Roofing employees regularly work at the Petty Enterprises complex, the thrill of working around the Petty family racing legends has worn off—to some extent.

Instead, this re-cover project was rewarding "because we were able to bring our client together with a manufacturer," Allen notes.

Kate Gawlik is associate editor of Professional Roofing magazine.

Project name: Petty Racing Design Project Building
Project location: Level Cross, N.C.
Project duration: Dec. 12-21, 2003
Roof system type: Self-adhering modified bitumen
Roofing contractor: McRae Roofing Inc., Asheboro, N.C.
Roofing manufacturer: Mule-Hide Products, Beloit, Wis.