Beating the Clock! New Foam Dome
 

Most people think twice before replacing a roof that doesn’t leak.

The folks at West Virginia University didn’t bat an eye when it came to replacing the 34-year-old SPF roof on their 174,000-square-foot domed coliseum. The 14,000-seat coliseum is the home of the Mountaineers -- the men’s and women’s basketball teams -- as well as UWV’s volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastics programs. As part of a $7 million aesthetic renovation, the university decided to replace the concrete structure’s foam dome.

Since the dome hadn’t leaked a drop since opening in 1970, the decision about which company to use for materials was easy. The university insisted on working with the same company that provided the materials for the original roof: BASF Polyurethane Foam Enterprises (BPFE). And they also decided to use Kentucky-based Insulated Roofing Contractors (IRC) to apply the materials, as IRC had previously worked on the coliseum’s roof.

The application of the new foam roof, as is the case with most projects, had several inherent difficulties. The coliseum’s dome has external ribs that are 12' high in places. Combined with somewhat of a steep pitch, solid footing was a problem. The concrete dome was built as a post-tension deck. That means that cables run through the middle of the concrete to support the dome, which prohibits the drilling of holes to support scaffolding.
But IRC had a leg up on the process. In 1991, they had applied a silicone topcoat over the coliseum’s existing roof. That experience would turn out to be helpful.

First, they had to devise working platforms that would give their crew members solid footing, access to every square inch of the dome and enough height to ensure thorough and even coverage when spraying foam.
“In order to access all those different levels and ribs, we had to construct electrically powered aluminum work platforms,” said Sean Stumler, IRC vice president of sales. The platforms were attached by cables that crossed the top of the dome. Using a cable winch, the platforms could be raised or lowered to allow access in between the ribs.

“The roof was too steep to stand on, and there was a danger of falling,” Stumler said, “so the guys were tied off with Miller-brand lifelines and harnesses at all times.”

Tough Teardown!
Since the dome interior was covered with acoustical foam, the teardown was anything but typical.

“Usually, when you’re tearing off a foam roof, there’s a lot of beating and banging, and we use a lot of heavy pry bars,” says Stumler. “In this case, we had to scrape the deck as opposed to beating on it so that the insulation wouldn’t break loose.”

The concrete was in perfect condition, Stumler said. “There were no bug holes and no repairs to be made whatsoever. Since there was no primer called for, we got right to spraying the foam.”

Sneaking Around the Barricades
Access to the job site for the crew (a 10-man teardown team and a seven-man application team) was terrific. They were able to park their 26' International tandem-axle box truck and 24' Wells Cargo tandem-axle trailer right next to the building. But easy access turned out to be a double-edged sword.

“Overspray was a major issue because there was a lot of traffic flowing through the parking lots,” Stumler said. Since they were working from platforms that were small and awkwardly positioned, the IRC crew could not prevent overspray by using handheld shields or by erecting typical barricades. The only way they could prevent overspray damage was to cordon off parking lots and monitor the wind.

 “We had to block off several parking lots at different times, and it was a continuous effort to keep those blocked off,” Stumler said. “People take down your lines, move your barricades and park there anyway. It was a constant struggle. We lost a few battles, but we did okay. It could have been a lot worse.”

An Attractive Finish
From inside the trailer, Gusmer H2035 plural component spray rigs pulled BPFE’s ElastoSpray 81302 foam from 55-gallon drums. The two-component 3# polyurethane foam has 55 pounds of compressive strength, said BPFE representative Moses Clark. “That’s an area of the country in which we can get some pretty significant hailstorms,” Clark said. So it was important to have products that could withstand such a beating.

In addition to the strength offered by the ElastoSpray 81302 foam, the coating system needed to be resilient as well. Neogard’s Permathane II FR 70620 base and 70611 topcoat totaling 45 to 55 mils in two or three passes were selected to do the job. This aliphatic urethane UV-resistant coating system has a long history of performance, plus high tensile strength for hail resistance. But the topcoat was not chosen for its resiliency alone.

“The coliseum is a very high-profile building,” Clark said. “It’s the focal point of the city and the identity of the university. When you come down from the hills on the freeway near Morgantown, the first thing you see is the dome, not the city.”

Since long-term aesthetics were important, BPFE and IRC partnered to examine several different coating systems before choosing the aliphatic urethane.
“Other materials can get dirty and hold dirt for a long time,” Clark said. “We examined some silicones and some hybrids, but found that this material represented the best long-term value.”

Take It from the Top
From their perch atop the movable platforms, the IRC crew members laid down 1.5" of expanded foam with Gusmer GX7 guns with #1 modules. With one man on the ground and the rest on top of the building, the crew, at times, had as many as twelve 50' sections of Gusmer heated hoses fastened together. That made it especially important that the nozzle men knew when heat, proportions and pressures were correct.

“We look to make sure the foam is rising properly,” Stumler said. “In addition, we make sure that the gun feels right. You can feel the material coming through the gun. If the material doesn’t come through the gun properly, you can feel that as well. You can sense the pressure change.”

Since the ambient air temperature hovered in the low 80s, IRC did not have to worry about applying the foam to a surface that was too cold (about 40°F). However, they did have to contend with an unusually wet summer.

“We worked as much as humanly possible when it was dry, but there was a lot of standing around waiting for the rain to stop, too,” said Stumler. Although his crew originally intended to perform some of the work at night, it was difficult to keep an eye on the weather while it was dark, so they usually worked during the day.

“There were lots of whole days when we couldn’t work,” Stumler said. “We’d tear off a small section and get that watertight before the rain set in. I’d say, all in all, we lost about three weeks of productivity due to the weather.”

Beating the Clock
Just like a basketball player sinking the final basket right before the buzzer sounds, the crew from IRC sprayed the last bit of foam just before the Mountaineers’ basketball season began. In spite of the tough teardown, uncooperative weather, and people who ignored barricades, the team from IRC beat the clock. And if the old roof’s successful performance is any indication, the new BPFE, IRC-installed roof should beat the clock as well – lasting for many trouble-free years. UWV’s hard-working athletic teams now have a refurbished home thanks to the hard-working spray foam team from IRC. 

 

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