Roofing with care

• Photo courtesy of Paul Crandall & Associates Inc., Grafton, Wis.
• Photo courtesy of Paul Crandall & Associates Inc., Grafton, Wis.
• Photo courtesy of Paul Crandall & Associates Inc., Grafton, Wis.
• Photo courtesy of Paul Crandall & Associates Inc., Grafton, Wis.

In 1998, Wisconsin's Waukesha Hospital System and Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital joined to form ProHealth Care, a network of nearly 1,000 physicians and 4,800 employees, making it one of the largest employers in Waukesha County. As the only community-based health care organization in the area, ProHealth Care also is the largest health care provider between Milwaukee and Madison. It treats more than 400,000 patients every year in its 15 primary care clinics, three hospitals, home health care center, senior residency communities, and health and fitness center.

ProHealth Care offers a full range of services and is dedicated to serving residents of Waukesha County and surrounding areas with the highest quality care to promote a healthier community.

In line with its mission to continually improve the health of its community, in 2014, ProHealth Care opened a new ProHealth Care Cancer Center in Pewaukee, Wis., with roof systems designed and installed by Paul Crandall & Associates Inc., Grafton, Wis.

An improved design

Construction of the ProHealth Care Cancer Center began in May 2014. The facility's overall construction was completed in about a year with Paul Crandall & Associates' roofing portion of the project phased in during a five-month period.

The project originally specified an EPDM ballasted roof system, but the building owner requested Paul Crandall & Associates provide more roof system options. The team at Paul Crandall & Associates recommended a polymer-modified bitumen roof system because it believed it would improve quality and long-term protection.

"It was an honor and privilege to provide a recommendation for a longer-term roof system," says Paul Crandall, president and owner of Paul Crandall & Associates. "The general contractor was a bit reluctant to work with a smaller company, but we were steadfast in our ability to provide a reliable roof system. It did take a bit of persuading, but as the project progressed, the general contractor gave us numerous compliments about the excellent work we were doing."

Once the new roof system was approved, workers installed self-adhering CertainTeed^® Black Diamond^® Base Sheets directly to the concrete roof deck. A laser then was used to check for any deflections in the concrete deck before installing an Atlas-certified drainage system, a requirement for all ProHealth Care projects.

As the drainage system was installed, workers adhered at least three layers and up to seven layers of tapered polyisocyanurate insulation with Millennium One Step™ Foamable Adhesive, which created a 1/4 of an inch per foot slope to support water shedding. The insulation then was covered with 1/4-inch-thick SECUREROCK^® also set in adhesive.

Next, workers sprayed CertainTeed FlintPrime^® Low VOC Asphalt Primer over the SECUREROCK and applied two layers of CertainTeed Flintlastic^® SA PlyBase (self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen) and a Flintlastic SA Cap FR, a self-adhering fire-rated cap membrane.

Workers used CertainTeed's SmartFlash^® liquid flashing on all flashing areas to create seamless detail components and installed a customized METAL-ERA^® coping system manufactured in METAL-ERA's Waukesha facility.

A challenge faced by the team was working alongside the masons who were working on similar sections of the roof where Paul Crandall & Associates needed access.

"We were maintaining a fast-track schedule, and unfortunately we were delayed at various times throughout the project," Crandall says. "We adapted, improvised and found other sections of the roof to work on while the masons were able to complete their work."

In the spirit of safety

Based on project requirements at various times, between 12 and 22 Paul Crandall & Associates employees worked on the 150,000-square-foot roof system to stay on schedule. All foremen, journeymen and laborers attended a safety orientation meeting conducted by the project's construction manager before working on the massive project, and all safety measures complied with Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.

To honor the spirit of the cancer care center, workers wore bright pink safety T-shirts with the Paul Crandall & Associates logo on the front and the ProHealth Care Cancer Center logo on the back.

By the time the project was in full swing, all trade workers wanted to wear a pink T-shirt to show their support. During North American Occupational Safety and Health Week 2014, May 4-10, Crandall created and distributed more T-shirts so everyone contributing to the project could demonstrate their support.

The healing garden

The Paul Crandall & Associates team also assisted with the final detail requirements for an extensive "green" roof system to create the center's "healing garden." The vegetative roof system encompassed more than 10,000 square feet at various levels and included a leak-detection system, various layers of drainage mats, STYROFOAM™ insulation and two layers of 3-inch-thick extruded polyisocyanurate insulation boards. Local nurseries throughout the surrounding area provided a variety of extensive and intensive plants, including various sedums, phlox, fescues, hostas, arborvitae trees, iris, hardy geraniums and select ornamental grasses. Workers completed the vegetative roof system with pavers, a glass railing system and fountain.

"The vegetative roof system for the healing garden was one of the most unique parts of this job," Crandall says. "It was one of the most creative assemblies I have ever worked on, and I am proud to say it is the most unique vegetative roof system in southeastern Wisconsin."

A positive future

In October 2014, Paul Crandall & Associates completed its work on the ProHealth Care Cancer Center in time for the facility's grand opening in November. The company's team successfully overcame challenges to provide an improved roof system design and beautiful vegetative roof garden that will supplement the healing experiences of many patients in the years to come.

"Our involvement in this major project was an honor and privilege," Crandall says. "We believe this project will ultimately create a positive impact in the lives of so many individuals, as well as in our community."

Chrystine Elle Hanus is Professional Roofing's associate editor and NRCA's director of communications.

Project name: ProHealth Care Cancer Center
Project location: Pewaukee, Wis.
Project duration: May 2014-October 2014
Roof system types: Polymer-modified bitumen and vegetative
Roofing contractor: Paul Crandall & Associates Inc., Grafton, Wis.
Roofing manufacturers: Atlas^® Roofing Corp., Atlanta; CertainTeed,^® Malvern, Pa.; Dow^® Building Solutions, Midland, Mich.; METAL-ERA,^® Waukesha, Wis.