Award-Winning Roof Retrofit Protects Students, Preserves Aesthetics

It’s hard for students to learn in a classroom with buckets catching water dripping from a leaking roof. Yet, classes continued in a computer lab at Riverton Intermediate School in Huntsville, Alabama, home to approximately 800 fourth, fifth and sixth-grade students. There were leaks throughout the building, and an inspection by Old South Construction Company showed why: The 20-year-old standing seam metal roof and gutters were rusted.

As a general contractor headquartered in Wetumpka, Alabama, Old South Construction Company has created its niche over the past eight years completing more than 175 projects on school and community buildings. Many school projects are done during summer break to avoid additional congestion at drop-off and pick-up points with the added ease of working on an empty building. Riverton has an active summer program, so there is no time when the building is not occupied. Old South collaborated with Joe Cuzzort, Madison County School System’s director of operations, to obtain the proper security identification and safety protocols to work among students and staff.

“It was vital to get those leaks stopped as quickly as possible,” says Richard Peake, senior project manager at Old South Construction Company.

The building’s distinct rooflines were enhanced with the old standing seam metal roof, a look Riverton wanted to keep as they considered options for the new roof. Old South proposed two options. The first, which was what the district initially wanted, was to replace the standing seam metal. The second, a more budget-friendly choice, was to convert the standing seam to a flute fill retrofit. After some negotiation, Old South proposed the retrofit vinyl rib system with the appearance of standing seam panels, and the company was awarded the project.

New Roof Installation

The 140,000-square-foot reroofing project required 1-1/2-ich Duro-Guard EPS Flute Fill insulation to be mechanically installed directly over the existing standing seam metal roof. It was covered with 1/2-inch Duro-Guard DEXcell cover board adhered with Duro-Grip CR-20 (HFO) adhesive. The 50-mil charcoal Duro-Tuff PVC membrane was adhered with Duro-Last Solvent-Grip Adhesive. The vinyl ribs were then heat welded to the membrane, giving the appearance of a standing seam roof system.

“We ended up installing over 77,800 linear feet of vinyl rib, along with several custom-fabricated HVAC curbs,” Peake notes. “We used EXCEPTIONAL Metals’ eave trims, gutters, downspouts, fascia and soffits. So, it is a complete system from Duro-Last, literally Edge-to-Edge, Deck-to-Sky.”

The project required 4,000 linear feet of EXCEPTIONAL Metals’ vinyl-coated drip edge, 2,700 linear feet of DX-style gutters and 1,500 linear feet of 4-inch-by-5-inch downspouts.

With a 20-Year NDL Warranty from Duro-Last, Riverton Intermediate School no longer needs to worry about placing buckets around classrooms when it rains. The students in the computer classroom are smiling and back in front of their screens.

The project also was also honored by the manufacturer, as Duro-Last named the project the winner of the 2022 Edge-to-Edge & Deck-to-Sky Award, which recognizes the project that best utilizes Duro-Last products for the entire roofing system.

“I think the biggest advantage of the Duro-Last Roofing System is that we are a one-stop shop,” said Peake. “From gutters, downspouts, fascia, soffit and membrane to what goes directly on the deck. In addition, we have a single warranty, which is a huge advantage for the building owner. As a contractor, we can choose to do business with anyone. But we choose Duro-Last because Duro-Last supports us like no one else does.”

TEAM

Roofing Contractor: Old South Construction Company, Wetumpka, Alabama, industrialroofsystems.com

MATERIALS

Membrane: 50-mil Duro-Tuff PVC, Duro-Last, duro-last.com

Cover Board: Duro-Guard DEXcell, Duro-Last

Insulation: Duro-Guard EPS Flute Fill and Duro-Guard Poly ISO, Duro-Last

Drip Edge: Vinyl-Coated Drip Edge, EXCEPTIONAL Metals, exceptionalmetals.com