Smooth sailing

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G & G Roofing of Columbus Inc., Pickerington, Ohio, usually handles residential roofing projects. However, once in a while, the small company likes to take on challenging commercial roofing projects and is eager to have a chance to branch out in the roofing industry.

This was the case with the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club project in Buckeye Lake, Ohio.

"As a member of the club, I heard the board of directors was interested in reroofing the building," says Ryan Russell, sales manager for G & G Roofing of Columbus. "So we bid on the job. Bidding was kind of fun because we had to go to the board with a presentation of our bid. We're used to one-on-one meetings."

The company's bid was accepted, and G & G Roofing of Columbus began to plan for the challenge of tackling a commercial roofing project.

Organization

G & G Roofing of Columbus was hired to reroof the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club with laminated fiberglass-reinforced asphalt shingles. But first, the company had a significant amount of pre-project organizing to do, including handling a crew that was larger than usual and obtaining more equipment for the project.

"A big part of the organization process was talking about the job and planning," Russell says. "We had to get more workers to carry trash and supplies because there was more trash than we're used to. One aspect of G & G Roofing of Columbus that I think makes us stand out is our crew is our own crew. A lot of companies subcontract their crews, but we always have our crew of five guys. The two foremen have been with us for more than 20 years."

The roof system was about 10,000 square feet (929 m²), and the project required removing two layers of 103 squares (957 m²) of three-tab asphalt shingles.

"The tear-off process was challenging," Russell says. "The yacht club is located on an island, which presented a severe problem with shingle tear-off. There was no way to get trucks on or off the island, so manpower was our only option. More than 200 squares (1858 m²) of shingles had to be removed and carried more than 100 yards (91 m) to the trash bins. It took planning, and the roofing workers were tired." Three members of the roofing crew were designated to carry trash across the island.

Transportation

The company needed to speak to the yacht club's board members daily to update them about the status of the roof.

The yacht club was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but it was open during the rest of the project. So the company also had to be careful when working with club members present.

"We designated trash and material areas and were careful around areas that involved people walking below," Russell says.

G & G Roofing of Columbus replaced the original roof system with CertainTeed 50-year Independence Shangles, laminated fiberglass asphalt shingles, in cottage red.

The company also installed CertainTeed's Winterguard™ self-adhering underlayment and felt and replaced wood on the roof system's deck. The upper section was 1- by 10-inch (25- by 254-mm) plank board, and the bottom was plywood.

G & G Roofing of Columbus also used some unorthodox methods to transport roofing materials to the job site.

"Transporting materials to the island was difficult," Russell says. "There was a bridge to the island that was too small for cars and trucks. We thought of using a skid-steer loader, but the power lines and boat docks were in the way. After evaluating the problem, wheelbarrows were chosen to carry the shingles across the bridge."

The island's lake-effect weather also caused problems.

"Any project is difficult when it is on an island," Russell continues. "Because we were on the lake, the weather sometimes affected the project. One day, we couldn't work because it was too windy. Shingles were blowing around."

The company took ordinary safety precautions during the project. It also had a severe cleanup process at the end of the project.

"Cleanup was time-consuming because we carefully had to clean all the shrubbery and property," Russell says.

A bigger challenge

Although the location of the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club was one unique aspect of the project, the scope of the project was uncommon for G & G Roofing of Columbus.

"Because we only have a five-man crew, we usually just deal with smaller, residential roof systems," Russell says. "Performing a reroofing project on a roof this size was a rare experience for us."

Russell continues, "The positive reinforcement from the yacht club members and compliments on the project made it even more worthwhile."

Krista Reisdorf is managing editor of Professional Roofing magazine.

Project name: Buckeye Lake Yacht Club
Project location: Buckeye Lake, Ohio
Project duration: December 2004
Roof system type: Laminated fiberglass-reinforced asphalt shingles
Roofing contractor: G & G Roofing of Columbus Inc., Pickerington, Ohio
Roofing manufacturer: CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, Pa.