New Roof Helps Maintenance Facility Live on as Transportation Museum

Originally built in the 1930s to serve as a maintenance facility for electric-powered cable cars and train cars, the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop (IERBYS) is now a transportation museum for the Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge. Photo: CertainTeed

Originally built in the 1930s to serve as a maintenance facility for electric-powered cable cars and train cars, the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop (IERBYS) is now a transportation museum for the Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge. Photo: CertainTeed

A transportation museum located along the Bay Bridge Trail in Oakland’s Gateway Park required roofing with a classic look plus the benefits of modern materials to protect its exhibits far into the future.

Built in Oakland, California, in the 1930s as a maintenance facility for electric-powered cable cars and train cars, the Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop (IERBYS) was transformed into a transportation museum for the Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge that opened in 2013.

Due to the IERBYS being a historic landmark, the installing contractor — Westech Roofing of Richmond, California — was required to have the building exterior match the same look the building presented when it was first constructed, as documented by historic photos of the building available through the Library of Congress.

Classic Look, Modern Materials

The original roof was a hot-process built-up roof, and considerations were given to try to match that look by installing a hot asphalt roof system. However, because of factors such as roof access, wind from the bay, and number of times the kettle would need to be moved to access the structure’s 17 separate roof decks, the decision was made to use a different application method.

Photo: CertainTeed

The contractor chose CertainTeed’s Flintlastic SA self-adhered modified bitumen system along with SmartFlash liquid flashing to overcome the project’s challenges and replicate the look that was required by the client. The three-ply system consists of Flintlastic SA Nailbase, Flintlastic SA Midply and Flintlastic SA Cap FR Capsheet.

Another challenge for the Bay Bridge Museum was completing the roof flashing. On each of the numerous roof decks there were locations where the roofing needed to be flashed to the siding on the outside of the building. However, the siding is constructed of asbestos panels, which required the Westech Roofing team members to complete the roof flashing without disturbing the panels. In order to accomplish this task, they used CertainTeed’s SmartFlash liquid flashing with excellent results.

TEAM

Architect: Einwiller Kuehl Inc., Oakland, California, www.einwillerkuehl.com
Roofing Contractor: Westech Roofing, Richmond, California, www.westechroofing.com

MATERIALS

Modified Bitumen Base Ply: Flintlastic SA Nailbase, CertainTeed, www.certainteed.com
Modified Bitumen Mid Ply: Flintlastic SA Midply, CertainTeed
Modified Bitumen Cap Sheet: Flintlastic SA Cap FR Capsheet, CertainTeed
Liquid Flashing: SmartFlash, CertainTeed

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