Roof Replacement – Challenges and Benefits

The Project – Roof Replacement and Internal Gutters Restoration for TIAA-CREF

The headquarters for investment firm TIAA-CREF is located in the University Research Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is low-rise building with 6 floors. The existing roof had exceeded its expected lifespan and been repaired several times over the years. The large internal gutters around the glass dome were also leaking and would need to be addressed after the roof insulation wood be completed.

TIAA-CREF contacted Radco along with 5 other contractors about completing the necessary work on this project. Radco had not installed the existing roof system but had repaired the roof over the years and was awarded the project. The property management company that handles the building is Cushman & Wakfield, and the consultant was RSM out of Tampa, Florida.

The Roof Tear Off and The installation of The New Membrane

The roof replacement consisted in a complete tear off to the structural concrete deck. After Radco primed the existing concrete deck with Soprema Elastocol 500 primer, they installed a temporary roof consisting of a torched down Soprema SopraFlam 180 membrane that also serves as a vapor barrier. The new roof membrane assembly consists of 2 layers of Polyisocyanurate (ISO) insulation, tapered ISO adhered with Duotack insulation adhesive, and a 1/8″ Sopraboard set in Duoktack insulation adhesive and 2 layers of Soprema SopraFlam 180 along with a Soprastar cap sheet (Energy Star Compliant) with Alsan liquid flashings. Additional requirements were new davits for fall protection and building envelope maintenance.

To ensure a high quality of the roof, Radco superintendents and foremen conducted daily roof inspections and weekly walks with the consultant. They also created digital daily reports on their walks that were provided to the customer to show work-in-progress, manpower utilized, and potential issues throughout the project.

After the main roof replacement process was completed, Radco continued with the 11,000 square foot internal gutters restoration, utilizing the Sikalastic RoofPro Liquid Membrane System.  Repairs were made to the copper dome and the skylights were re-glazed as part of the overall scope.  Lastly, all new lightning protection was installed on the entire roof and dome.

The Challenges – Access to the Roof for Material Delivery

One of the challenges on this project was access to the roof for material delivery and refuse removal. In an effort to save time, Radco elected to use large cargo nets to help remove the old roof system. They attached the cargo nets to a crane that removed the roof material off the roof and into large dump trucks. TIAA-CREF had to close down their cafeteria outside seating area for safety purposes during this process. TIAA’s grounds were very well kept. Although it was difficult, the crews worked to keep the beautiful landscaped grounds in their original state.

The Benefits – Reduced Heat Absorption and…

There are many benefits for using the Soprema SopraFlam 180 roof membrane:

• that it is a FM I300 Factory Approved system. It contains a white reflective elastomeric membrane which will help reduce heat absorption and energy cost.
• there is also a significant increase on the roof membranes durability with its 377 mils thickness.
• the client will see a huge cost savings due to increased R value which is a measure on thermal resistance on the insulation that was installed. There is also a permanent water proofing seal on the dome with a 30 year warranty.