Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
On your next project, try this—be $480,000 over budget and nearly 200 days past your expected completion date and still satisfy your customer.
That's what Blue's Roofing Co., San Jose, Calif., did when working on Etcheverry Hall, a six-story, 47-year-old building at the University of California, Berkeley, home of the Golden Bears. Etcheverry Hall houses the university's departments of industrial engineering and operations research, mechanical engineering and nuclear engineering. Blue's Roofing was asked to tear off a 24,000-square-foot (2160-m²) built-up roof (BUR) area and install an SBS-modified bitumen roof system. The company also removed an 8,500-square-foot (765-m²) concrete topping slab on the building's plaza deck area that was replaced with an SBS-modified bitumen roof system.
Photo courtesy of Blue's Roofing.
Blue's Roofing Co., San Jose, Calif., performed several renovations on Etcheverry Hall at the University of California, Berkeley.
But Blue's Roofing's responsibilities did not only encompass the roof system. The company also refurbished redwood beams; waterproofed 10 balconies; retrofitted steel beams on two penthouse decks; installed new sheet-metal details, 34 premanufactured safety brackets and courtyard pavers; and removed a water chiller from the roof.
Blue's Roofing began work April 23, 2001, and initially was given 150 days to finish the project. However, the project was not completed until April 15, 2002. The delay occurred because of extensive concrete repairs that had to be made before waterproofing could begin. The concrete repairs added $400,000 to the university's bill.
Mike Vernon, a project manager for Blue's Roofing, says, "Although we finished the project over budget and beyond the time schedule, the university was overwhelmed by the project's turnout and has commented favorably about the building's aesthetics."
Roofing work
Installing a new roof system was a significant step to help improve the building's aesthetics, and safety was a major concern during the project. Roofing workers were protected during vertical surface repairs by using a swing stage; workers wore body harnesses and were hooked to safety lines.
Other safety considerations had to be made because the project occurred while school was in session and in a high-traffic area. Blue's Roofing, therefore, installed a chain-link fence and pedestrian-protection canopies around the building's perimeter and monitored deliveries via an alley at the back of the building. In addition, Blue's Roofing told professors when it would use a jack hammer so they could change their classes' locations or times to avoid noise.
On Saturdays, the company performed work requiring a crane because surrounding streets had to be closed. Blue's Roofing had to inform the city it was using a crane 11 days in advance and purchase 15 parking spots for $15 each from the city to allow adequate space to set up the crane.
After the roof system was installed, Blue's Roofing again considered pedestrian safety and installed 5 3/8-inch (137-mm) cables under redwood beams at the plaza deck area to keep students away from the roof's edges.
Most of Etcheverry Hall's original roof system consisted of a BUR system over a structural concrete deck. But a concrete topping slab was in place over the middle courtyard section of the roof system, and the building's conference area roof system featured a cap sheet over a metal deck. Tear off began by cutting the topping slab into 2- by 2-foot (0.6- by 0.6-m) sections. Roofing workers used Bobcat equipment to move the pieces from the roof's edge; cranes were used to place debris into trucks for removal.
After the roof system was torn off, a subcontractor installed lightweight insulating concrete in all roof areas to improve the roof slope. The original roof had no slope, and the new roof slopes vary between 1/8-in-12 and 1/4-in-12 (0.6 degrees and 1.2 degrees).
"Installation of the lightweight insulating concrete was difficult because of the various slopes that had to be achieved in two pours and [the subcontractor had to] keep the proper height for the paver layout," Vernon notes.
Blue's Roofing crews installed an SBS-modified bitumen roof system with new insulation and a cap sheet on the conference area. The plaza deck area features Siplast Parabase, Paradiene 20 EG and Paradiene 20 PR set in hot asphalt. A protection board was installed before paver installation. The main deck area and penthouses feature the same roof system as the plaza deck area but were finished with a flood coat and gravel. Because of concerns about asphalt fumes, a fume-recovery system was used.
Other work
In addition to roofing work, Vernon says there were 11 other work phases, such as concrete work and redwood restoration, that closely were linked and affected each other's progress.
Communication, a key factor in the project, was fostered by weekly meetings during which all companies and organizations working on the project were represented.
Weekly meetings included the roof consultant; a University of California, Berkeley, project manager; Blue's Roofing's superintendent; a building coordinator; and an inspector of record. Manufacturers' representatives were required to attend a meeting before their materials were installed so questions and concerns could be addressed.
Concrete work caused a major concern. During the initial inspection, the roof consultant and engineer determined 600 small concrete spall repairs had to be made. But while Blue's Roofing crews were performing sounding work on the vertical walls, concerns about the amount and size of spalls were voiced by crew members. Therefore, vertical wall work was stopped, and the engineer reinvestigated the concrete structural walls. The engineer concluded the vertical walls had major unconsolidated curing and honeycombing occurring in the structural concrete columns.
As a result, the following concrete repairs were performed:
In the end, 820 small spalls were repaired; 1,700 spalls with corners were repaired; and eight concrete areas were injected with epoxy.
An eyesore
Clark Kerr, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, said, "If you are bored with Berkeley, you are bored with life."
When exploring the campus and what the university offers, it's easy to see why he made such a strong statement. A university that is known for promoting civil rights and liberties also has an impressive staff, including eight Nobel laureates, 19 MacArthur Fellows, 124 members of the National Academy of Science, 82 Fulbright Scholars and three Pulitzer Prize winners. More Berkeley graduates receive their Ph.D.s than any other university's graduates in the United States. In addition to academics, the university boasts 46 national team championships and 101 NCAA individual titles in the PAC-10 conference.
Aesthetically, the 1,232-acre (493-hectare) campus offers views of the San Francisco Bay and Berkeley Hills and houses many historical landmarks. On such an inviting campus, Etcheverry Hall was an eyesore. And fixing a dilapidated building on a vivacious campus, despite budget and time problems, makes Vernon proud.
"This building virtually was changed from an eyesore to one of campus's most talked about waterproofing retrofit [jobs]," Vernon says. "[Receiving praise] from students and the chancellor makes it worth all the hard work."
Kate Gawlik is associate editor of Professional Roofing magazine.
Project name: Etcheverry Hall, University of California, Berkeley
Project location: Berkeley, Calif.
Project duration: April 23, 2001, to April 15, 2002
Roofing contractor: Blue's Roofing Co., San Jose, Calif.
Roof system type: SBS-modified bitumen
Roofing manufacturer: Siplast, Irving, Texas
Engineer: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., Northbrook, Ill.
Architectural/design consultant: Technical Roof Services Inc., Concord, Calif.
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