A new roofing system gives life to historical brewery whose roof was beyond repair

Located near the Fishtown neighborhood in Philadelphia, what was once the Weisbrod & Hess Brewery dating back to 1880s, had set vacant for 20 years. The existing roof was damaged beyond repair, and large areas had even collapsed years ago. Topline Construction, based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, was selected for this re-roofing project to give new life to this existing structure. The building will house an up and coming restaurant in the near future.

Topline Construction originally proposed Versico’s 60-mil VersiWeld TPO membrane for the re-roofing project and planned to install a fully adhered system using Versico’s CAV-GRIP 3V Low-VOC Adhesive. The upper roof of the restaurant, which is a 3,000 square-foot area had a slope of 1/4-inch per foot, and the lower roof, 7,000 square feet, had a slope of 6/12 with large gussets at the eave with internal drains. Given the slope and the possibility of difficulties installing the bareback TPO on this slope, Topline Construction changed the specification to Versico’s RapidLock (RL) TPO system. Versico’s VersiFleece RapidLock Roofing System provides a fully adhered roofing system without the use of adhesives, and instead utilizes VELCRO Brand Securable Solutions to attach 115-mil VersiFleece roofing membrane to the underlying rooftop.

The Process

The re-roofing installation was completed by Topline Construction, whose team boasts more than 17 years of experience installing Versico roofing systems. The team at Topline Construction began this 10,000-square-foot installation by placing a layer of Versico’s VersiCore Polyiso Insulation on top of the existing deck. This first layer of insulation was followed by a layer of Versico’s VersiCore RL Polyiso insulation, further increasing the rooftop’s thermal efficiency. Both layers of insulation were mechanically attached to the roof deck.

Scott Manley, owner of Topline Construction said, “The RapidLock System simplified and sped up the installation, also allowing ease of install while working on a 6:12 pitch. Once in place, we were able to have sheets installed in just over 1 minute.”

The final component to this re-roofing project was the VersiFleece RL TPO membrane, which was rolled out on top of the VersiCore RL insulation and secured using VELCRO brand attachments. With the additional security of the membrane attachment, the entire rooftop qualified for Versico’s 20 total system warranty with additional coverage of windspeeds up to 55 miles per hour.

Systems like Versico’s VersiFleece RapidLock Roofing System are not only providing high performance on the rooftop, they are also enabling building owners and contractors to complete projects more efficiently without the interruption of delays often caused by cold temperatures, and without adhesives.

TEAM

General Contractor: Topline Construction, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, www.toplineconstruction.com

MATERIALS

Insulation: 2.6-inch thick base layer of VersiCore Polyiso, Versico, www.versico.com

Membrane: VersiFleece RL TPO membrane, Versico