Denver, Colorado (8/11/2000) --- When designing a new state-of-the-art information center for the Sonoma State University, CA, ED2 International, the San Francisco architects on the project knew they needed a reliable roofing system to protect the high tech equipment, but they also were challenged to stay within budget parameters. "We specified a built-up bituminous roof, which allowed us to stay within budget while at the same time providing a quality roofing system," said Danny Young, Project Manager for ED2 International. "Rather than going to the expense of building a tapered substructure on the flat concrete over metal decking, we decided to use tapered insulation, which was very effective."
Extensive insulation was used to bring the building to the specified R-value as well as providing adequate slope on the roof for drainage. Roof drains and scuppers provided additional drainage for the system. The insulation system, which was designed by J. Leo Richardson, lead designer for the Johns Manville Tapered Design Group, consisted of 130,000 square feet of Johns Manville tapered E'NRG'Y 2™ insulation, one-inch flat E'NRG'Y 2 insulation board and ½" Retro-Fit® board insulation.
The JM Tapered Design Center developed a detailed plan of the tapered insulation system, which served as an installation guide on-site for the roofing contractor. The placement of drains, roof-top units, and the size of the project presented additional challenges. The tapered system varied in thickness from ½ inch to 16 inches excluding the base layer and had an average R-value of 23.89.
"Due to the multiple levels of insulation, the project required a great deal of coordination," said Herbert Li, President, Pioneer Roofing, the San Francisco-based roofing contractor on the job. "We had to pre-compute the amount and type of insulation for each area of the roof in order to avoid movements between each level."
The roofing felt used on the system, which carries a 20-year no-dollar-limit guarantee, consisted of four plies of Johns Manville GlasPly® Premier. The University's standard specification included a special emulsion coating, which consisted of aluminum and chopped fiber glass.
"We were very pleased with the technical support Johns Manville provided on the project and with the durability of the roofing system," said Khatchig Tchapadarian, project manager for the general contractor, McCarthy Building Companies of Northern California. "Virginia Fereday, the JM rep, was there to help everyone with the technical information. Also the roof has held up extremely well during the course of construction and the placement of HVAC equipment. This helped us to minimize the costs on the project in relationship to damages," he concluded.
The Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center is Northern California's most technologically advanced library. It features an automated retrieval system capable of storing and retrieving up to 450,000 books and other printed matter. Linked to a computer system in the main section of the library, called "snoopy" the automated retrieval system finds the book, brings it to an attendant, who places it on an electronic transfer vehicle which dispatches it to the desired circulation desk. Photos and information about the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center can be found at
http://libweb.sonoma.edu/about/default.html.
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.
