Asphalt Roofing Projects Awarded for Sustainable Use and Beautiful Design

What do one of the largest independent supermarket chains, a local government city hall and historic mansion all have in common? An understanding and appreciation of the value provided by asphaltic roofing. From shingles to BUR to modified bitumen, these systems provided beautiful, affordable and reliable performance to the winners of the 2014 Quality Asphalt Roofing Case-Study Awards (QARC) program.

The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) bestowed the Gold Award to Precision Roofing Corp. for Doral City Hall, located in a city that was incorporated just a decade ago; the Silver Award to Advanced Roofing Inc. for a newly constructed Publix supermarket in Miami; and the Bronze Award to Certified Inc. for the Phelps Mansion, which was built in 1888 and was home to Mayor Edward Phelps, best known for bringing electric street lights, a telephone system and a Washington, D.C., railroad connection to his hometown of Laurel, Md. In addition to the three QARC winners, a series of projects were also recognized with honorable mentions.

For each of the winning projects, the asphalt roofing system played an important role; whether it was to add multiply redundancy to ensure the safety of employees and shoppers alike, meet requirements set by a historic commission that requested a product that imitated slate, or to surpass energy-efficiency standards established by the local building code.

“Asphalt roofing’s beauty and reliability contributed to making each of these distinct projects a success,” says Reed Hitchcock, executive vice-president for ARMA. “Property owners look to asphalt roofing for aesthetic designs and durable, long-lasting protection. Asphalt roofing provides the adaptability they need, evident by its use in the QARC award-winning projects.”

The annual QARC Awards program honors the architects, contractors and specifiers who use asphaltic roofing materials on low-slope and steep-slope building projects. Each year, the program reveals the most exceptional residential and commercial roofing projects from across North America. The 2014 award recipients are:

Gold
Project Name: Doral City Hall
Doral, Fla.
Company: Precision Roofing Corp.
Project description: The roofing system consisted of multiple roof areas, including three plies of premium glass ply and an energy-efficient cap sheet that exceeded the reflectance requirements of ENERGY STAR®, Title 24 and the Miami 21 Initiative.

Silver
Project Name: Publix
Miami
Company: Advanced Roofing Inc.
Project description: Due to the high-rise buildings adjacent to the new store, Publix’s specification required the roofing contractor top-coat the roof with a white and gray striped design consisting of a 2.5-inch Polyiso, a Stratavent Eliminator Base Sheet, three plies of Type IV and a 190 FR Modified Bitumen Cap Sheet.

Bronze
Project Name: Everett Victorian
Laurel, Md.
Company: Certified Inc.
Project description: The asphalt roofing shingle on this home was chosen because it imitated natural slate, one of the products that had been approved by the local historic commission. The product was also easy to work with, providing a safe environment for the contractors onsite.

Honorable Mentions
Watts
Mill Creek, Wash.
Chris Howard Roofing LLC

Dufrene Ranch
Sloughhouse, Calif.
Lucero’s Roofing

Waid
Marietta, Ga.
Atlanta Re-Roof Specialists Inc.

Luzerne County Courthouse
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Mark J. Sobeck Roof Consulting Inc.

The 2014 QARC judges represented experts in the roofing and home design industry, as well as the building and construction trade media. For the low-slope commercial systems, the judging criteria focused on the project’s unique aesthetics, performance and adaptability; while the steep-slope residential projects were evaluated based on the different asphalt shingle textures, styles and colors which can transform a home.

One of the judges stated that the gold winner best exemplified “how asphalt-based roofing products meet the key needs of commercial buildings – energy-efficiency, reliability and affordability—in ways that other roofing products are simply unable to.”

Another judge stated about the silver winner: “Miami presents roofing challenges with wind, hot temperatures, humidity and hurricanes. I was impressed with the use of four plies and Publix’s commitment to excellence. The cool roof is an added bonus which will save the owner in energy costs.”

The top three winners will receive a check from ARMA in the amounts of $2,000, $1,000 and $500, and will have their roofing projects featured on the ARMA website.

ARMA is now accepting submissions for the 2015 QARC awards campaign. For more information about the QARC Awards or to submit a project, please visit the association’s website.