Englewood, Colorado (11/1/2006) --- One of the biggest challenges in replacing the roof on the IHS Inc. Headquarters Building at 15 Inverness Way East, Englewood, Colo. was to keep the building water tight while tearing off two old roofing systems and applying a new Johns Manville (JM) built-up roofing system. The building was occupied at the time and housed multi-millions of dollars of technology equipment.
“IHS is an information company and we were installing the 116,500 square foot roofing system directly over the main computer banks,” said Steve Pohl, operations manager for Alpine Roofing Company, Inc. of Denver. “It was scary. Water damage could shut down the main hub for this worldwide company. Being watertight in a matter of minutes was a necessary requirement.”
The solution was installation of a JM DynaBase® SBS modified bitumen base sheet that served as a temporary roof.
“The mechanics of removing two roof systems instead of one was difficult,” said Paul Lundquist, president of Southwest Roofing Consultants, Inc. of Evergreen, Colo. “The nice thing about the JM base sheet is that we were able to tear off up to 5,600 square feet per day and still have time to install the insulation, recover board and DynaBase, so we were in the dry each day.”
Lundquist specified a JM ENRGY 3™ high thermal polyisocyanurate foam insulation, which was mechanically attached to the deck in order to make the building more energy efficient. The positive impact on the building’s operating expenses was quickly realized.
A JM ½” Retro-Fit® board was then mopped over the ENRGY 3 insulation before the DynaBase fiber glass base sheet was installed. After every third or fourth day, Alpine Roofing came back and installed three layers of JM GlasPly® Premier fiber glass felt in hot asphalt. The roofing system was finished with a gravel surface to provide a Class A fire rating; solar barrier to the harmful effects of the sun; additional wind uplift resistance; tolerance to foot traffic; and hail resistance.
Flashings consisted of one ply of DynaBase and one ply of DynaFlex® modified bitumen flashing sheet mopped and flopped in place. Special details were provided for roof drains and gas line supports.
To provide additional protection to the roofing system, a walkway made from two additional plies of GlasPly Premier and one ply of JM DynaLastic™ 250 polyester reinforced modified bitumen with white granule surfacing was placed around the mechanical equipment. It was adhered in hot asphalt over the existing four-ply system to provide seven layers of protection.
“To make the walkway apparent, we used an aluminum coating,” Lundquist explained. “It stands out like a pearl inviting foot traffic to follow its path.”
The roofing system was installed under the watchful eyes of a pair of geese that had nested on the final section of the roof scheduled for replacement. While the crew was on site, three of five eggs hatched. Protection of the geese became a primary mission for the roofing crew.
“The Alpine Roofing and IHS Inc. Facility crews adopted the geese,” said Mike Wooster, director of facilities for IHS Inc. “They didn’t want anything to happen to them. They built a little barrier around them and provided them with food and water. The male goose would get agitated and attack the crew. Eventually the parents flew off the roof and Francisco Gallarzo the foreman on the job and Dennis Schneider with IHS Inc. Facilities, caught the babies, put them in a box and released them on a wet land adjacent to the building where the parents took over and escorted them to a nearby pond.”
IHS decided to recognize the crew for their hard work with installing the roof and their diligence in protecting the geese. He provided lunch for everyone and awarded “the order of the goose” to Gallarzo Jim Hauschildt, an inspector for Southwest Roofing Consultants and Lorri Mauler, the IHS Service Coordinator.
“We really got to know the entire crew,” Wooster said. “We didn’t speak Spanish as well as we should have, but we communicated well despite the language barrier.”
Wooster was very impressed with the finished roof and everyone involved in the installation. He said that Paul Lundquist is one of the most knowledgeable roofing consultants he’s met in his 35 years in the construction business. He also had praise for Alpine Roofing and said he would welcome the opportunity to provide a reference for them. He met with the JM people several times and said they demonstrated the job was important to them. He was also extremely complimentary of the IHS Inc. Facilities manager Jon Julien and his staff who oversaw the project and worked very hard to mitigate potential concerns.
In addition to Gallazaro, other key members of the Alpine Roofing crew assigned to the IHS project were Marvin Guyer, superintendent and Juan Escoto, the lead man. Alpine roofing was established in 1960 and has been a preferred JM contractor for more than 10 years.
“We use JM more than any other product line out there,” Pohl said. “It’s nice having them locally based as they are always responsive to any questions that come up.”
Southwest Roofing Consultants is a full-service commercial roof consultant firm. The team, including three observers who monitored the IHS project, has more than 100 years of combined experience. They offer due diligence, roof inspections, design, specifications and construction management.
Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products. The Denver-based company has sales in excess of $2.5 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs about 8,500 people and operates 43 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.
