Photo courtesy ofSullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy ofSullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy ofSullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy ofSullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy of Sullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy of Sullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy of Sullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Photo courtesy of Sullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
In 2004, reform Jewish congregation B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim (BJBE) adopted the following vision statement: "We will create a sacred place, a Jewish town square that will become the center of our being as Jewish People."
At the time, BJBE was based in Glenview, Ill. During 2002-03, BJBE's demographic task force had conducted an analysis of the congregation's demographics and trends in the Jewish population of Chicago's north and northwest suburbs. The analysis showed rapid growth occurring in areas north of BJBE's location, including in Deerfield, Ill.
In 2005, BJBE's board of trustees identified a prospective site in Deerfield that was ideally suited for BJBE to construct a new synagogue. In August 2006, the board unanimously voted to acquire the property, and in January 2007, BJBE took official ownership of the site.
BJBE began work on the project—which included redeveloping an existing office complex into a more than 600-seat main sanctuary, preschool, social hall, kitchen, administrative support areas and village center—in September 2007.
The project's general contractor, Krusinski Construction Co., Oak Brook, Ill., asked Sullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., with which it previously had worked, to complete the project's roofing portions.
"The project involved almost all aspects of roofing: tear-off, new construction and siding work," says Mark Bosch, Sullivan Roofing's project manager.
Sullivan Roofing began work on BJBE's new synagogue in May 2009.
All types of work
The existing vacant complex at the site of BJBE's new synagogue was transformed into the school wing, administrative support areas and village center; these areas of the existing complex were left intact. The areas of the complex that became the new sanctuary and Sacred Hall were completely demolished and rebuilt.
On the school portion, an eight-person Sullivan Roofing crew tore off the existing built-up roof and insulation down to the metal deck. After tear-off was complete, Sullivan Roofing installed polyisocyanurate tapered insulation and a fully adhered Carlisle SynTec Sure-Seal™ 60-mil-thick EPDM roof system on the school and main sanctuary using AccuTrack Fasteners.
"We installed the same system on the social hall, village center and kitchen areas," Bosch says. "Crew members were tied-off with harnesses."
The EPDM roof system installations were typical, according to Bosch. However, Krusinski Construction also asked Sullivan Roofing to install slate siding on the sanctuary's exterior walls—and that proved much more difficult.
"Multicolored slates from Global Slate were imported from overseas and required a four- to five-month lead time," Bosch says. "We installed the slate in phases because some arrived in three months and some arrived three months after that."
Sullivan Roofing also had to decide the best way to hang the slate siding.
"The biggest obstacle aside from the lead time was determining what to use to install the slate—screws or nails," Bosch says. "The problem with using a screw-type fastener is that it would make replacing a damaged slate almost impossible without removing a large area of siding. Nails would have been preferred, but we needed something stronger than a typical copper or galvanized nail."
Sullivan Roofing eventually decided to use silicon bronze ring shank nails to install the slate siding because of the nails' strength. Crew members installed the slate from a man-lift. The installation's first phase took about one month, and the second phase took about 1 1/2 months.
Additionally, Sullivan Roofing installed all the slate trim on the building.
A long time
Sullivan Roofing completed work for BJBE in mid-October 2009, and the company has received much praise for its work.
"The most rewarding aspect of the project is how appreciative the owner and architect, Finegold Alexander & Associates Inc., Boston, are of Sullivan Roofing's installation," Bosch says.
Steve Moeller, Krusinski Construction's project manager, also expressed his satisfaction with Sullivan Roofing's work in a letter to Bosch, thanking Sullivan Roofing for its quality work and attention to detail.
As for BJBE, its new synagogue was completed in early November 2009. And on Nov. 8, 2009, hundreds of members of the congregation walked six torahs through the streets of Deerfield to their new home.
"This will be a project that is around and that we remember for a long time," Bosch says.
Ashley St. John is Professional Roofing's associate editor.
Project name: B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim synagogue
Project location: Deerfield, Ill.
Project duration: May-October 2009
Roof system type: EPDM
Roofing contractor: Sullivan Roofing Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
Roofing materials manufacturers: Carlisle SynTec Inc., Carlisle, Pa.
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