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Green Roof Helps LEED the Way in Baker Electric Building Renovation
By: Jack L. Moore, Jr., Project Engineer, West Roofing Systems, Inc.
Photos Courtesy of West Roofing Systems, Inc.
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VENDOR TEAM
West Development Group
SPF Contractor
300 Commerce Drive
PO Box 646
LaGrange, OH 44050
(866) 924-4585
www.wdgsilicones.com
Cumberland Development, LLC
Architect
7100 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44103
(216) 407-7580
www.cumberland-development.com
West Development Group
SPF Manufacturer
300 Commerce Drive
PO Box 646
LaGrange, OH 44050
(866) 924-4585
www.wdgsilicones.com
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The Baker Electric Motor Car Building in the midtown corridor of Cleveland’s east side was once the principal Cleveland showroom and service facility for Baker electric cars. Designed by Frank B. Meade in 1910, the Baker Electric building is listed on the National Register for Historic Places. Today, it houses medical technology companies, a financial group, and a real estate company, to name a few.
There’s a strong trend today to renovate existing, urban, industrial-era buildings with “green” materials and energy-saving features, and this building was no exception. Dick Pace, a principal at Cumberland Development, LLC, recently restored the building’s ornate brickwork, high ceilings, wood-paneled offices, and original foyer tile using a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certification that measures and quantifies sustainable building design.
This renovation, which includes a number of environmentally friendly LEED categories, such as geothermal heating and cooling, features a soy-based foam roof from the West Development Group (WDG) that contributed significant LEED points to the building, earning it a Silver Certification.
Historic and New Market Tax Credits were used for 40 percent of the project’s funding, but these funds were available only if the building was LEED certified from design to construction and implementation. The System 14 roof from WDG was put to use to help the building earn those LEED points.
Pace has had a long-term relationship with WDG – including roofing projects for the Playhouse Square Foundation in downtown Cleveland and the Independence Technology Center in Independence, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. Because of this relationship, he knew about System 14 and recognized that WDG would contribute significantly to obtaining LEED certification.
“I have a very good relationship with WDG and knew they would be able to install a quality roof,” Pace explained. “WDG provided Cumberland Development with documentation relative to the System 14 product line that was applicable to LEED certification.”
The LEED Benefits of System 14
 Many roofing companies claiming green benefits deliver roofing products with reflective qualities that reduce the heat island effect. That’s the extent of their greenness and contributions to LEED points. WDG, however, with its System 14 Roofing System, contributes to a building’s LEED status in multiple ways, helping it earn up to 11 LEED points. Because 26 LEED points are required to earn certification, System 14’s points contribution can bring a building almost half-way there.
This project used the System 14 silicone roof system (see article side bar for product information) and delivered numerous benefits in sustainability, low VOC emissions, use of recycled materials, and energy-efficient design — valuable green building practices to obtain LEED certification.
To install the new spray polyurethane foam (SPF) System 14 roof system over 36,976 square feet (3,435.m2), this re-roofing project required the refurbishing and cleaning of 28,476 square feet (2,645.5m2) of granulated modified bitumen membrane and the removal of 8,500 square feet (789.7m2) of EPDM, along with the removal of the membrane and underlying installation assembly before new 0.5-inch (1.3 cm) high-density wood fiber board could be mechanically fastened.
The high R-value of WDG’s roof system permitted the downsizing of the mechanical systems and other material, which decreased initial capital expenses for equipment and materials, as well as lowering long-term building operating expenses.
Covering the newly installed 0.5-inch (1.3 cm) fiber board, West Roofing contractors installed 3 inches (7.6 cm) of WDG 3009-3 three-pound soy polyurethane foam. They covered that with a base coat of WDG HSS 540 R2R solvent-free silicone coating at 10 mils thick and an intermediate coat of WDG HSS 535 solvent-free silicone coating at 10 mils thick with 3M Ceramic Granules embedded at a rate of 40 pounds per square. Then they added a top coat of WDG HSS 535 Bright White solvent-free silicone coating at 10 mils thick.
The application took a six-man crew 15 days to complete. Timing and completion of the project were crucial so that new tenants could occupy the building as scheduled.
Adding up the Points
WDG provided Pace with detailed documentation to illustrate the variety of ways in which the System 14 silicone roof system would help the Baker Electric Building achieve a LEED Silver certification.
 Sustainable Sites – Within this category, LEED addresses the heat island effect. Traditional roofing materials absorb the sun’s radiation and release it as heat. The intent of this credit (1 point) is to reduce heat island temperatures that have an impact on a location’s microclimate. To do this, a roof must have a Solar Reflective Index (SRI) of 78 over at least 75 percent of the building’s roof. WDG’s white solvent-free silicone coating used as a topcoat over the spray polyurethane foam helped the roof of the Baker Electric building meet LEED requirements for reflective value. The silicone coating has a reflectance of 80.67 percent and emissivity of 0.94.
Energy and Atmosphere – This category establishes a minimum level of energy efficiency for the proposed or existing building and systems. The intent is to reduce environmental and economic impact associated with excessive energy use. The Baker Electric building’s geothermal heating and cooling system contribute to this category. The spray polyurethane foam used by the System 14 roof system, with its high thermal value and lack of fasteners and seams, is a valuable component in a building’s design to help achieve optimum energy performance. The SPF used on the Baker Electric building dramatically improves a roof’s insulation value with an R-value of approximately 6.25 per one inch (2.5 cm) of thickness and is worth 1 LEED point.
Materials and Resources – The System 14 roof installed on the Baker Electric building provided 8 points toward the LEED certification in this category. Five points were gained for using recycled materials: 1 credit for Construction Waste Management; 2 credits for Material Reuse; and 2 credits for Recycled Content. The LEED intent is to divert construction, demolition, and land-clearing debris from disposal in landfills and incinerators. This helps redirect recovered, recyclable materials back to the manufacturing process and appropriate construction sites.
System 14’s spray foam and silicone-coating products were fluid applied to the Baker Electric building, producing minimal construction waste, and earning 1 point for Construction Waste Management. The torn-off EPDM material was recycled by WDG for use as post-consumer material in product manufacturing. This is part of WDG’s exclusive Roof-to-Roof (R2R) process that uses recycled EPDM roof materials to produce the company’s WDG 7-702 R2R silicone sealants and solvent-free silicone coatings, which were used on the Baker Electric building project, earning 4 LEED points for Material Reuse and Recycled Content.
WDG’s spray foam is greater than 10 percent post-industrial material, and the company’s silicone topcoats are made of 16.5 percent post-consumer EPDM. In addition to using recycled material to reduce the negative impacts of ever-larger landfills and the extraction and processing of virgin materials, aged EPDM from an existing building is ideal for use in coating applications because roofing EPDM is formulated for exposure to an outside, harsh environment that includes UV rays, ozone, water and ice, etc. Using System 14 products for the Baker Electric building benefits both the environment and the building (1 point for Recycled Content).
To help increase the demand for building materials and products extracted and manufactured in the region, LEED includes the Regional Materials and Rapidly Renewable Materials classifications. System 14 materials used on the Baker Electric building fulfill both of these criteria (2 points). The company’s soy-based SPF uses an indigenous resource (soy, which is grown in Ohio) that reduces environmental impact resulting from transportation. Also, the SPF is manufactured from soy-based polyol in lieu of petroleum-based polyol. Approximately 25 percent of the polyol used in the WDG insulation manufacturing process is renewable.
Innovation and Design – The WDG products delivered 1 point in this category because most roof suppliers only provide white topcoat. No other suppliers delivered benefits listed above – from recycled content to agri-based material. The seamless SPF roof, with no fasteners, contributed to this category as well.
Durability and Low Maintenance
A year after its installation, Pace is pleased, but not surprised, with the performance of the spray foam and silicone roof that protects the Baker Electric building.
 “The seamless characteristics of a foam roof facilitate the installation of new equipment, such as air conditioning units, on the roof,” Mr. Pace explained. “The foam is ideal for changing equipment because it is durable, flexible, and stands up to the different configurations without leaking.”
Because there are separate air conditioning units for each of the tenants in the building, there are multiple air conditioning units on the roof of the building. The roof stands up to the traffic on the roof, and the seamless SPF minimizes leakage. Maintenance is recommended once a year, but is not required.
Pace said that the foam roof is a good solution on many levels. First, the project was able to accumulate a significant number of LEED points from the WDG roof system to help obtain the Silver Certification. Second, the quality of the roof system is remarkable. And third, his experience over the years with WDG products and West Roofing has been completely positive.
In fact, work is in process on another Cumberland Development project. West Roofing will be installing a new System 14 roof on an addition to a technology center in a Cleveland suburb.
“Dealing with West Roofing and WDG is a pleasure,” Pace said. “They stand behind their roofing system, they provide any necessary maintenance, and the work gets done when they say it will.”
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