Central States Research Facility Flat Roof Case Study

Central States Research Sign
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Grant Golliver, owner of Messick Roofing, talks about one of their recent flat roof projects at Central States Research Facility.

Can you tell us a little bit about the project?

It was a four-ply roofing system, and it looked like it probably started off with one-ply back in the day, maybe 25, 30 years ago. And they just kept adding layers on top of it. That’s pretty common on a flat roof, you know.

But it finally got to the point where there was some weakening within the membranes, so we had to remove those. We can’t go over the top of the fourth layer with a new membrane; that’s just it’s going to void out the manufacturer’s warranty. So it’s in the best interest of our client and the roof to take that roofing material, including insulation, all the way down to the steel deck.

So we take a leaf blower, blow all that junk off the roof, and then go over the top of that with four inches worth of insulation. We completely fully adhere that to the roof. We’d go over the top of that with the bonding adhesive, essentially a glue.

We finished the project with a single-ply TPO membrane, 60 mil. We would overlap those maybe five inches at the seams and roll it out at ten-foot rolls all the way to the eve and terminate at the eve with that termination bar and flash all the roofing penetrations up on the roof, any kind of pipes or HVAC that’s up there for their air conditioning system.

And that’s pretty much it.

What’s the benefit to TPO membrane versus what’s been traditionally used?

Well, the old school roofing system is pretty much like an asphalt shingle. It’s rolled out very similar to TPO and it’s asphalt, so it’s got a little bit of grit to it. But it’s also pretty weak in comparison.

Whereas the TPO is elastic; it can expand and contract with the weather, which is great. And it’s got a 20 or 30 year manufacturer’s warranty, which is solid, whereas the old-style roofing system is called modified bitumen roll roofing. And it really didn’t have much of a warranty to it at all. So using TPO will prolong the shelf life of the roof for sure.

Do you have a flat roof that needs a high-quality replacement?

Messick Roofing & Construction has been providing quality roof replacements to northeastern Oklahoma since 1962, and we’re endorsed by the Oklahoma CIB and ORCA. Give us a call today at (918) 276-7285, and we’ll help you get started.

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