When the University of Notre Dame decided to erect a new building at the heart of its campus, the university wanted a building that would blend in with the other iconic structures nearby — and make a statement of its own. The newly completed Remick Family Hall does just that, thanks in part to a stunning roof system.
Remick Family Hall houses the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) graduate program, which educates students seeking careers in faith-based education. The university and architects at the SLAM Collaborative wanted to create a building that looked like it had been there for 100 years and also serve as a showpiece. The building features multiple roof systems including a copper standing seam roof, a slate mansard with 34 dormers, and a cupola made of flat-seamed zinc panels — all framed by a decorative cornice.
It would be a tough project to execute, according to Tony Polotto, Director of Construction and Quality Assurance, Facilities Design and Operations for the University of Notre Dame. The roof system would also be expensive, and initially the project looked like it might come in well over budget. But the university and its longtime roofing partner, Midland Engineering Company, Inc., came up with some creative solutions to get the project on track.
As the Covid-19 pandemic hit, shutdowns allowed the university to reallocate its manpower and serve as its own general contractor on the project. Midland Engineering was tapped to handle all phases of the roofing work, including prefabricating all of the metal components in-house.
“It’s a hugely complicated roof,” notes Polotto. “When we met with Midland at the beginning — and they are always good partners — they said, ‘Listen, we think we can make all of this stuff in house, and do it cheaper.’ And we said, ‘Why wouldn’t we do that? Let’s do it.’ Everything they could do internally, they did — and it fit like a glove.”
The Roofing Contractor
Headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, Midland Engineering Company has been a longtime fixture on Notre Dame’s campus. According to Ken Sage, Midland Engineering’s vice president of business development, the union-affiliated contractor has been tackling complex roofing, sheet metal, masonry restoration and waterproofing projects for a century.
“Our company is celebrating our 100th anniversary this year,” Sage notes. “We travel the country doing a lot of large restoration projects — cathedrals, universities — as well as new construction that incorporates slate, tile, copper. We have a national reputation for this type of work. This project just happens to be right in our backyard here at the University of Notre Dame.”
The roof atop Remick Family Hall was complicated, but that put it right in the company’s wheelhouse, according to Sage. “What sets apart these university jobs, first of all, is that they are building projects that they want to last a long time,” says Sage. “They often have a multitude of scopes of work on the roofing side of things — ornate sheet metal; steep roofing, including slate, tile, or copper; low-slope roofing; plaza decks and amenity decks with overburdens on them. So, we are a one-stop shop for these difficult types of projects that have multiple scopes of work.”
On this project, Midland Engineering’s in-house sheet metal shop fabricated the copper panels for the standing seam roof, the zinc flat seam panels for the cupola, as well as the aluminum cornice, copper gutters, downspouts and other decorative touches. “We have some special capabilities on the fabrication side,” Sage says. “Our sheet metal workers are not just sheet metal workers — they are craftsmen.”
Michael Kite, the company’s sheet metal shop manager, notes that the dormers and cupola were also prefabricated in house, complete with built-in hoisting rings and hooks so they could be lifted into place. “We did all of the cold-formed steel work for the dormers here at Midland,” Kite says. “The exterior face and walls of the dormers are .050 aluminum. The units were craned in and set in the holes in that mansard.”
The ornate cupola was also born in Midland’s shop. “We trucked it to the project in two pieces and assembled it,” Kite notes. “That cupola consists of approximately 710 diamond-shaped, flat-seam custom panels fabricated by Midland in their shop. The panels are VM quartz zinc. There is also a dormer element on the cupola, and that is all done in copper, and the radius hip caps are also done in copper.”
The Slate Mansard
As workers at Midland began fabricating the dormers and cupola at their shop, work began at the jobsite. The first phase of work for Midland Engineering’s roofing crews was to install the slate roof. According to Andy Nagle, superintendent and project manager, the top priority on the project was safety, and the site was fully scaffolded with a platform at the eave. “Setting up scaffolding around this entire jobsite was in itself a huge issue,” Nagle says. “Around this building there is barely enough room for a fork lift to drive, and that’s about it. So, we had to build the scaffold tight to the building for fall protection for our guys before we could even start work.”
After the scaffold was built and the safety plan was in place, work began on the sloped sections. Crews applied two layers of 2-inch insulation, plywood, and Grace Ice and Water Shield. The slate tiles were applied in a traditional fashion — hand nailed with copper nails, one piece at a time.
Making sure the four colors of Hilltop Slate tiles were properly mixed together was crucial. “You break it down almost to the exact square inch of each color,” Nagle explains. “You have to remember that there are not only four different colors, but there are four different sizes. You have to make sure every size and every color are evenly distributed around the building. Everything has to line up correctly. Each row going up, there is only one way to do it.”
The key details at the dormers were tackled as the dormer units were lifted into place. “We slated up to the bottom, they dropped the dormer in, and then we could slate around the whole thing,” Nagle notes. “All of the vapor barriers had to tie together. We couldn’t slate around the openings until everything was in place and the vapor barriers were tied together.”
After the slate roof sections were completed, crews moved on the main roof. “We hopped up top and dried in the high copper roof,” Nagle says. “We got that dried in for the sheet metal workers, and so the other trades working inside the building could get started.”
The High Copper Roof
The main roof is a 20-ounce copper standing seam roof. Approximately 8,800 square feet of copper panels were installed above the mansard, with another 600 square feet of matching copper panels on top of the 34 dormers.
The copper standing seam roof was installed over a metal deck, two layers of insulation, plywood, a layer of Carlisle WIP 300 HT underlayment, and red resin paper. The copper panels were roll-formed in house, crated, and trucked to the jobsite, where they were craned to the roof.
“We distributed them evenly around the roof for the crews to install,” Kite says. “It’s a mechanical seam, so we used stainless steel expansion clips to attach the male leg of the panel to the plywood roof deck. The next panel is laid down, and there is a two-stage mechanical seam. The first stage is done by hand to keep it in place, and the second stage is done with a mechanical seamer.”
The Patio Deck
The roof also incorporates low-slope sections, including an amenity deck that provides a stunning view of the campus. This section of the building features a FiberTite KEE roof system, which was installed over a concrete deck.
“We put a vapor barrier down first, and then the insulation was fully adhered,” Nagle says. “The insulation was topped with DensDeck and the 50-mil FiberTite membrane, which was in Notre Dame’s custom color, Thermal Tan.”
The patio deck was topped with a paver system featuring Hanover concrete pavers, which were installed on adjustable pedestals. “In paver installations of this type it is critical that the system is laid out properly so that when finished everything looks uniform,” notes Sage.
Ornate Details
Other custom sheet metal work included the 20-ounce copper gutters, as well as decorative metal at the entrance to the building. “The front entranceway is all ornate metal that we formed out of .050 mill-finished aluminum,” Kite says. “All of the miters were TIG welded in-house in the shop, and all of the decorative brackets were flat sheets of metal that we formed and TIG welded.”
The cornice work around the perimeter of the building was also fashioned from .050 mill-finished aluminum and designed with no exposed fasteners. The cornice was installed after the slate work was completed.
“That was kind of tricky, because the gutters had to go on prior to the slate,” Kite says. “Where the gutter meets the cornice, you have two dissimilar metals that had to be separated, and we did so with a stainless steel cleat. We did it out of sequence so we could facilitate the installation of the slate. We got the inlaid gutter in, and then the slate was put on the mansard. Once the slate was done, we moved the scaffold to access the cornice at the eave. Having two dissimilar metals there and no exposed fasteners, it was challenging, but as you can see it came out very nice.”
The cupola was the last piece of the puzzle. It was fully assembled on the site and hoisted into place with a crane. “All of the roof system, the copper gutter, the FiberTite roof system beneath the cupola was all 100 percent complete when we set the cupola in place,” says Kite.
Measuring Success
Despites its many challenges, the building was completed under budget and ahead of schedule. Feedback on the building has been overwhelmingly positive, notes Polotto, and the deck with its view of the Golden Dome is a very popular spot for students and visitors.
Polotto credits excellent teamwork from everyone involved on the project for its success. “The architect was a great architect. We had some good documents, and we worked with the contractors throughout the project so seamlessly that a lot of big problems just didn’t crop up,” Polotto says. “We got done with the job two months ahead of schedule, and the job ended up coming in under budget when we were told at the beginning that we might be over. So, in all measurable outcomes, I would say the job was a complete success.”
Midland Engineering takes great pride in its collaboration with Notre Dame. “We as a company walk around the campus and are proud of a number of buildings and projects that we partnered with them on out there,” says Sage. “This one just happens to be even a little bit more special because of the design and craftsmanship that went into this building.”
Polotto agrees. “Quite honestly, it’s probably one of the most complicated roof systems I’ve ever seen, and that’s my job,” Polotto says. “I’m a Registered Roof Consultant, I’m in the roofing industry, and I take care of all of the Notre Dame roofs and all new roofs here on campus. We deal with a lot of expensive and complicated roofs — slate roofs, clay tile roofs, copper. This roof has been one of the most complicated I have ever dealt with, and Midland hit it out of the park.”
TEAM
Architect: SLAM Collaborative, Glastonbury, Connecticut, slamcoll.com
General Contractor: University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, nd.edu
Roofing Contractor: Midland Engineering Company, Inc., South Bend, Indiana, midlandengineering.com
MATERIALS
Copper Panels: 20-ounce copper, Cambridge Street Metal, csmetal.net
Slate: Hilltop Slate, hilltopslate.com
Low Slope Membrane: 50-mil FiberTite KEE, Seaman Corporation
Pavers: Hanover concrete pavers
Slate Underlayment: Grace Ice and Water Shield
Metal Underlayment: WIP 300HT, Carlisle WIP Products, carlislewipproducts.com
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