Photo courtesy of Tip Top Roofers Inc., Smyrna, Ga.
Photo courtesy of Tip Top Roofers Inc., Smyrna, Ga.
Photos courtesy of Tip Top Roofers Inc., Smyrna, Ga.
Photo courtesy of Tip Top Roofers Inc., Smyrna, Ga.
The Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta was built in 1889 and contains legislative offices, visitors' galleries and a museum with an extensive collection of artifacts reflecting Georgia's history. Because of its historical significance, the Capitol is a national historical landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Capitol's expansive low-slope roof system has been plagued by water leaks since its construction, and water damage to the copper roof system resulted in the replacement of the building's atria ceiling plaster twice in 10 years. So when The Commission for the Preservation of the Georgia State Capitol was established in 1994 by an act of the General Assembly to oversee the Capitol's restoration, reroofing work was anticipated.
After being invited to bid on the project by its architect, Atlanta-based Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Tip Top Roofers Inc., Smyrna, Ga., was chosen to reroof the Georgia State Capitol.
A meticulous process
The existing 54,600-square-foot roof system was copper standing seam over 45-mil-thick EPDM over a 2- by 6-inch tongue-and-groove wood deck. The roof slope was about 3-in-12 (14 degrees). Tip Top Roofers was asked to remove the existing roof system and install a new modified bitumen roof system with insulation and concrete pavers above the membrane.
"We would tear off about 10 to 15 squares per day," says Ronnie Talbert, Tip Top Roofers' chief estimator and project manager. "The existing copper roof system was removed, wrapped in bundles and stored on the roof. The existing EPDM membrane also was removed, rolled up and stored on the roof. A crane was brought in to remove the trash twice a week."
After tear-off was complete, the existing roof deck checked for any damages and repairs completed, Tip Top Roofers loose-laid one ply of red rosin paper and then mechanically attached one ply of Soprema's Elastophene Sanded ply sheet. The base sheet was primed with Soprema's Elastocol Primer, and two plies of Soprema's Lastobond S, which is a peel-and-stick membrane, were applied. The laps were back-nailed at the valleys.
Tip Top Roofers then installed one ply of Soprema's Sopralene Sanded membrane set in Soprema's Elastocol 500 cold adhesive followed by one ply of Soprema's Sopralene 180 FR GR membrane set in Elastocol 500 cold adhesive. Next, Tip Top Roofers installed two layers of 2-inch-thick Dow Chemical insulation and added 1 1/2-inch-thick concrete pavers on top.
"Georgia's government office buildings are close to the Capitol, and the state governor's office is on one of the top floors," says Bennett Hutchison, Tip Top Roofers' president. "We were asked to provide a shingle-like appearance on the roof, which is why the concrete pavers were used."
And safety measures were taken.
"Barricades, safety rails and warning lines were used on the roof," Talbert says. "At ground level, barricades were used at the storage and loading areas."
Some difficulties
Tip Top Roofers encountered a number of challenges during its work on the Capitol.
"We started the job June 11, 2005, but had to stop work Dec. 7, 2005, because of weather," Talbert says. "Also, the Georgia legislature's session had started, and we couldn't work on the roof while they were in session. We started work again May 5, 2006.
"In addition, there were 38 loads of material delivered and 20 dump trucks of trash hauled off during the project," Talbert continues. "We could only bring materials in on Saturdays because downtown Atlanta is so busy and there is so much traffic during business hours Monday through Friday. It was difficult to get the truck drivers to make deliveries on Saturdays. We had to pay extra for the deliveries."
The Capitol's location also caused a problem.
"Because of the building's location, vehicular traffic, pedestrian traffic and lack of space, it was difficult to stage the materials from the ground to the roof," Talbert says.
A rewarding job
Despite the delays, work on the Capitol was completed on schedule—reroofing was finished Dec. 5, 2006.
Talbert says: "It was rewarding to complete the job on time without any major roof leaks or damages to the inside of the building."
Ashley St. John is Professional Roofing's associate editor.
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