Challenging Wintertime Installation Completed on Tight Schedule

Roofing work on the 250,000-square-foot expansion of Chicago Premium Outlets was completed in five months under challenging weather conditions. Photos: Johns Manville

The Chicago Premium Outlets 250,000-square-foot expansion includes 30 new or expanded stores, two new restaurants, 2,200 additional parking spaces, public art, outdoor fireplaces and a large pond. According to Mike Reynolds, senior project manager for Olsson Roofing Company Inc., headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, “Chicago Premium Outlets is more of a pedestrian mall since the expansion.”

Located approximately 40 minutes from downtown Chicago, the complex now features more than 170 stores including Adidas, Coach, Nike, kate spade new york, Movado Company Store, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Tommy Hilfiger, Vera Bradley, and Restoration Hardware. The reflecting pond is an inviting rest stop for shoppers, and it includes a play area and a pier-like pavilion with tables, chairs and umbrellas. To support the expansion, Olsson Roofing Company, the roofing contractor on the project, selected a TPO roofing system manufactured by Johns Manville.

A Challenging Installation

The project team faced two pressing challenges: weather and an aggressive timeline. The roofing-installation time frame fell between January and May, so the majority of the work needed to be completed during the coldest time of year. “We had our work cut out for us,” Reynolds says.

Photos: Johns Manville

The second challenge was the schedule. “The Olsson Roofing team worked several Saturdays and overtime to get the project finished as quickly as possible,” notes Reynolds. “We even heated the inside of the buildings to melt the snow on the roof and shoveled areas to make room for the product on the roof.”

Olsson Roofing chose to install the roof system using the RhinoBond induction welding attachment system from OMG Roofing Products. “We knew that RhinoBond would contribute to a successful installation of the TPO since we were dealing with below-freezing temperatures for most of the first 90 days,” Reynolds says.

Photos: Johns Manville

The 60-mil TPO was installed over two layers of ENRGY 3 roof insulation (one layer was 2 inches thick and the 2.5 inches). The majority of the roof surface features white TPO, but some EPDM was also used. “Olsson Roofing also used JM EPDM for the parapet walls since rubber is more flexible and quicker to install in cold weather and on vertical surfaces. They appreciated the ability to mix the systems and keep the project moving forward during cold-weather installation,” says JM sales representative Jason Conley. “With such a tight deadline, it was great to have the versatility of two excellent products — the durable 60-mil JM TPO and the flexibility of the JM EPDM, which provided just the right solution for our customer.”

TEAM

Architect/Specifier: FRCH Design Worldwide, Cincinnati, Ohio, www.frch.com
General Contractor: Graycor Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, Illionis, www.graycor.com
Roofing Contractor: Olsson Roofing Company Inc., Aurora, Illinois, www.olssonroofing.com

MATERIALS

Insulation: ENRGY 3, Johns Manville, www.JM.com
Membrane: 60-mil TPO in White, Tan and Light Grey, Johns Manville
Attachment System: RhinoBond, OMG Roofing Products, www.OMGroofing.com