Close-up

The Maharishi Patanjali Golden Dome building at the Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, is used twice daily for the group practice of Transcendental Meditation. When the 28-year-old dome roof needed to be refurbished, Thermoseal Inc., Evansville, Ind., was chosen for the job.

The original roof consisted of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and a top coating. It needed to be refurbished because of damage resulting from insufficient routine inspection and maintenance. There were flaws in the coating and small wet areas in the SPF. Because the 25,000-square-foot roof needed to match a nearby identical building, the existing coating and 1 inch of the existing SPF were scarified off the roof. This gave texture to the existing SPF and helped the new SPF adhere more effectively. The small wet areas were removed, and SPF was reapplied to the areas. Then, the SPF patches had to be shaved down to match the surrounding areas.

Volatile Free Inc.'s #11 epoxy primer was spray-applied to the remaining SPF. After priming, a 1/2-inch-thick VFI-730 polyurethane SPF was applied followed by a cream-colored VFI-540R aromatic polyurea hybrid and topcoat of VFI-263, which is a high-gloss, aliphatic polyurethane that was custom-mixed to match the metallic gold on the nearby dome.

The wind patterns on the roof were a challenge because of its domed shape. Its steep slope made it difficult to operate the reel-type scarifier on the dome. The scarifier had to be tethered to the peak at the center of the dome with a 3/8-inch braided steel cable. The crew wore harnesses at all times because the footing on the steep dome was difficult.

A four-man Thermoseal crew completed the project in 800 man-hours.

To submit a photo for Close-up, e-mail professionalroofing@professionalroofing.net or mail a photo to Professional Roofing Attn.: Close-up, 10255 W. Higgins Road, Suite 600, Rosemont, IL 60018. Submittals should include a photo, as well as a description or background for the photo. A $50 gift card will be awarded for the photo that is chosen to be featured in Close-up.