Denver, Colorado (8/17/2000) --- Opening day generally drives the schedule on new stadium projects and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers in Michigan was no exception. That's why it was important to Rich Gagnon, the senior project manager for the roofing contractor, Schreiber Corporation, to work with a team he could rely on to support the tight schedule under which he was operating.
The Schreiber Corporation, with offices in Detroit and Toronto, was founded in 1916, and has based its reputation on avoiding risks by approaching installations conservatively. That's why they only select blue chip companies as suppliers on their jobs. For Comerica Park, they selected the Johns Manville UltraGard® SR60 as the roofing system for the project. The Schreiber Corporation has been doing business with Johns Manville for 60 years.
The 72,000 square foot roof offered a number of challenges. The roof consists of 40 different roof sections. There are more than 30 roof decks on the upper concourses that include concessions, stairways, offices and elevators. In addition, the roof required a 50-pound per square foot (I-100) wind uplift resistance.
The specification also called for an ASCE7 structural code relating to wind-load provisions and it was important to understand what that meant to the installation. Because of these challenges, it was necessary to make a number of changes on site. Gagnon believes they were fully supported in that process by the Johns Manville team including Kathy McDonald from Phil Johnson Sales & Assoc. Inc. and Dean Kepler, the local JM field technical representative for the job.
"The Johns Manville representatives realized some of the unusual circumstances on this project and recommended solutions," said Gagnon. "Their technical advice and on-the-job support were outstanding," he said.
The architect selected the Johns Manville UltraGard SR60 membrane in a custom gray color. This was placed over two layers of 1½ inch ISO 1™ polyisocyanurate roof insulation, some of which was tapered. All areas were mechanically fastened to meet the 50-pound per square foot wind uplift requirements.
The Schreiber team on the job including Mark Gilliam, Leonard Elmendorf, Shawn Kirk and Steve Chreck were able to maintain the feverish pace on the job and stay ahead of the demanding schedule. The key construction manager contacts--Sid Perkins, Bob Bowen and A.J. Scipione--should consider becoming licensed magicians the way there were able to expedite and coordinate all the changes with little or no interruption.
The architects also were presented with challenges in designing the stadium because it is located in an urban setting. Three architectural firms were involved. SHG Incorporated was the architect of record, HOK Sport designed the facility and the Rockwell Group was the entertainment architect. The decision was made to place the stadium 26 feet below grade to reduce the height and keep it in scale with the surrounding area.
"We knew we wanted a single ply PVC roof and we also thought a custom color was important," said Randy Hebestreit, project manager with SHG. "We've worked with Johns Manville for more than 30 years and know they have a good product," he said.
The general contractor on the project was Hunt-Turner-White (a joint venture).
Johns Manville is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building products. The 142-year-old Denver-based company had sales of $2.2 billion in 1999. Johns Manville employs approximately 9,700 people and operates 55 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at
www.jm.com.
