A slippery slope

• Photo courtesy of Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash.
• Photo courtesy of Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash.
• Photo courtesy of Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash.
• Photo courtesy of Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash.
• Photo courtesy of Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash.

During summer, roads are dotted with orange cones and roofs are surrounded with warning lines—the marks of summer construction. As winter approaches and favorable weather begins to fade, many construction sites disappear.

However, once winter hit the University of Idaho and students bustled around campus in the sleet, snow and ice, employees from Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash., continued to work on the roof system of the university's administration building. In fact, on many mornings, the crew was greeted with a 1/4-inch (6-mm) of frost on portions of the roof system.

"We placed large tarps over the anticipated area of roof to be worked on," says Ron McInerney, general manager of Burton Construction. "The tarps then were removed in the morning. Some days, we weren't able to do this because of high-wind conditions. If we then faced ice, frost or snow, we had to adjust by performing work from scaffolding and/or man lifts."

Accommodations

The administration building is one of four campus buildings designated as a landmark by the National Register of Historic Places.

"The building was constructed about 100 years ago in a rural community and is one of the first higher-education buildings in the state," McInerney says. "It has beautiful architecture and was challenging to construct, considering labor, material and equipment available in a small, rural Idaho town a century ago."

The university realized repairs needed to be made when the building began to experience water penetration problems on the roof system. The building had to be evaluated carefully because of its historical value.

"Quality standards and expectations from the owner and community were much higher because the building had historical significance," McInerney says. "There was a need to maintain the original look of the building, often requiring increased labor and expense."

Although university officials hoped the roof system could be restored to its original French clay tile, which had been covered by a terne-coated metal roof system, such a restoration would have cost twice the project's budgeted amount. Also, the architects realized clay tile would not respond well to temperature extremes.

Other issues were the roof system's dormers, which create valleys for snow piles, as well as wind-uplift resistance. Because of these issues, it was determined a hydrostatic roofing solution was needed to accommodate the accumulating snow.

Problem solved

A solution was found in the decision to install a steel roof system manufactured by The Garland Co. Inc. However, first the crew had to demolish the existing terne-coated metal, as well as about 177 sheets of deteriorated plywood deck. The new steel roof system then would be anchored to the original substrate, which was plywood sheathing that had rotted and needed to be replaced. Ornate gutters, leader heads and downspouts also were replaced.

The original metal roof system was about 40,000 square feet (3716 m²) and had about 1,800 feet (547 m) of roof flashings. Because of a number of leaks, an area with a 2,000-square-foot (186-m²) Hypalon®-covered low-slope roof had 4 inches (102 mm) to 6 inches (152 mm) of water-saturated insulation underneath it and about 7,000 square feet (650 m²) of plywood underlayment had severe water damage.

During the tear-off process, Burton Construction workers removed the original metal roof system by hand and used tear-off chutes and a crane to transport waste materials to the ground. The crew then installed a vapor retarder.

The new Garland R-Mer Span Standing-Seam 22 roof system was installed, and all the complex architectural gutters were recreated and replaced. Various sections of the original masonry work were cleaned, reset or tuck-pointed. A majority of the roof surface was covered with green steel roofing panels resembling a copper roof patina.

An icy reception

The roofing project began Sept. 7, 2003, and was completed April 16, 2004.

"The project took longer than expected," says Brenda Gerhart, public relations director for Burton Construction. "Project scope was extended to install 7,000 square feet (650 m²) of new plywood underlayment and 2,000 square feet (186 m²) of Garland's R-Mer Span metal roof system. This additional work had to be performed during and immediately after demolition. This used up a large portion of the favorable weather and caused the new roof system installation to be performed during the winter when we were hampered by adverse weather that caused substantial delay."

Another challenge was material storage and transportation to a busy college campus.

"The University of Idaho campus was in active use by students and faculty during the construction period, and there was limited storage at the administration building," Gerhart says. "The steep-slope nature of most of the roof also limited the amount of materials that could be staged. The bulk of the new roofing materials had to be located about 1/4 of a mile (0.4 km) from the site and delivered in increments to the building."

Working on a college campus, the crew was faced with the challenge of maintaining university staff and student safety. Also, temporary platforms had to be built to stock roofing panels.

"However, the challenges were overcome because of the site superintendent's dedication to seeing the project completed on time and without injuries," Gerhart says.

Playing it safe

This dedication included extensive safety precautions during the project. Covered walkways were placed at the administration building entrances. Safety cables were strung along ridge lines, and the crew used full harnesses and fall-protection lifelines. A crew erected scaffolding around the building to provide additional fall protection.

In addition, the public was protected from potential falling debris by site fencing between walkways.

The numerous stained-glass windows in the north wing of the building completely were covered with a temporary plywood shield. The site superintendent held daily safety meetings, and personnel were used as safety monitors.

In the end, the struggles with weather, safety and materials were worth it, and Burton Construction was happy with the results of the reroofing project.

"Placing a beautiful roof on a beautiful historical building that so many people see and use was rewarding," McInerney says.

Krista Reisdorf is associate editor of Professional Roofing magazine.

Project name: Administration building, University of Idaho
Project location: Moscow, Idaho
Project duration: Sept. 7, 2003-April 16, 2004
Roof system type: Steel
Roofing contractor: Burton Construction Inc., Spokane, Wash.
Roofing manufacturer: The Garland Co. Inc., Cleveland
Architect: Associated Architects of Moscow