Contractor Incorporates a Variety of Roof Assemblies on Florida Theater

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is a professional not-for-profit regional theater dedicated to the performing arts whose mission is to entertain, educate and inspire the community. As Florida’s largest regional theater, the award-winning Maltz Jupiter Theatre has been a cultural hub of Palm Beach County.

The theater took advantage of the pandemic shutdown to accelerate its $36 million renovation while the building was closed to the public. The project was fast-tracked to compress two stages of construction into 13 months. The three-story theater expanded its Goldner Conservatory, home to the Maltz’s youth arts education program, and redesigned its entrance and lobby. The facility now includes a new Broadway-scale stage that qualifies the theater for pre-Broadway and national tour-development productions; it also has a second theater space that seats 199 people.

“Advanced Roofing, Inc. was brought on by the project’s general contractor, Kaufman Lynn Construction, to tie in the roof on the new building into the existing building’s roofing system while construction was underway,” says Jessica Kornahrens, senior project manager with Advanced Roofing.

In business since 1983, Advanced Roofing specializes in commercial reroofing, repairs, and maintenance, as well as solar energy projects. Advanced Roofing tackled multiple scopes of work on the on a 33,300-square-foot Maltz Jupiter Theater roof as the project went through its various phases. The company provided several different assemblies on the building, which included new construction as well as work to help extend the life of pre-existing roof systems and minimize costs.

The scope of work on the various roof areas included:

• Area 1: Crews tore off the existing modified bitumen roofing and applied temporary roofing to dry in an area that would be covered by the new structure.

• Area 2: Advanced Roofing performed a moisture survey and pressure washed the existing modified bitumen roof. After crews repaired or replaced any damaged or blistered areas, they applied a roof coating system from Tropical Roofing Products that provided a 20-year warranty. Tropical #996 primer was applied at a rate of 1.5 gallons per square foot, and Tropical #924 Silicone coating was applied at 2.5 gallons per square foot.

• Area 3: Crews performed a moisture survey and pull test, then removed the existing modified bitumen roofing down to the lightweight concrete (LWC). After the LWC was repaired as needed, crews fully adhered Firestone UltraPly XR TPO (115 mil Fleeceback/60mil) in ISO Spray R adhesive.

• Area 4: This re-roof included a tear-off and pouring new LWC and installing the fully adhered Firestone UltraPly XR TPO system.

“These systems were great solution for the project,” notes Kornahrens.

Jobsite Choreography

Challenges on the project included the tight schedule and a crowded jobsite. “Work was coordinated in different phases with the general contractor dependent on when they were working on each of the areas,” Kornahrens says. “A tight staging area caused by numerous trades on site was a challenge, especially when space was required to pour LWC. The project was completed in four separate mobilizations with scaffolding setups for access and flashings.”

The large number of penetrations and new mechanical curbs to be flashed were also a challenge, as was protecting the roof from damage caused by other trades. The COVID-19 pandemic also caused disruptions in the supply chain. “Material lead times were a challenge, especially on an expedited schedule, which required changes to the type of materials used,” Kornahrens notes. “The project also required two separate permits: an existing permit and a new construction permit.”

Safety was always top of mind. In addition to Advanced Roofing’s proven safety program established by its full-time Safety Division, the team also adhered to Kaufman Lynn Construction’s special training requirements, ensuring a safe and secure worksite for both teams.

Bill Scholes, construction manager, and Ivan Lopez, foreman, maintained consistent and constant communication with the general contractor, and the Advanced Roofing team was able to meet the project schedule and proactively anticipate any potential challenges to prevent any issues to ensure the theater would reopen on schedule.

The Maltz Jupiter Theatre once again opened its doors to the public in January 2022 with excitement about the opportunities staging pre-Broadway productions would bring to South Florida, and the team at Advanced Roofing took great satisfaction in a job well done. “Advanced Roofing was proud to meet the challenging amplified schedule with several mobilizations and by limiting downtime, completing the project safely, on time and within budget,” Kornahrens says.

TEAM

General Contractor: Kaufman Lynn Construction, kaufmanlynn.com

Roofing Contractor: Advanced Roofing, Inc., advancedroofing.com

MATERIALS

Roof Coating: Tropical #996 primer and Tropical #924 Eterna-Sil Premium Silicone Roof Coating, Tropical Roofing Products, tropicalroofingproducts.com

Membrane: Firestone UltraPly XR TPO, Holcim Elevate, holcimelevate.com