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The new Stanford Hospital is currently under construction in Palo Alto, Calif. The 824,000-square-foot facility connects to the existing hospital by a bridge and tunnel. The project includes a multi-level parking garage and with additional office buildings. Photo: Stanford Health Center.<\/p><\/div>Dennis Olson is used to dealing with large health care projects with multiple scopes of work, but the new Stanford Hospital project he\u2019s currently working on might be the most challenging job he\u2019s ever faced. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been involved with a project that\u2019s been this complex and this difficult to roof and manage,\u201d says Olson, the owner of Letner Roofing<\/a> in Orange, Calif. \u201cThere are 16 different types of roofing and waterproofing systems, and each one is a little bit different at each location around the building.\u201d<\/p>\n Located in Palo Alto, Calif., the new Stanford Hospital is an 824,000-square-foot facility that connects to the existing hospital by a bridge and tunnel. Olson is convinced his company is perfect for the job. He has been in the roofing industry for almost four decades, and he\u2019s worked at Letner for more than 30 years. Olson worked his way up through the company as a foreman, project manager, and estimator before becoming the president and owner 15 years ago. \u201cI have been estimating and managing health care projects for more than 25 years,\u201d he says. \u201cThis job is right up our alley.\u201d <\/p>\n Located in Orange, Calif., Letner Roofing specializes in commercial work including all types of roofing and below-grade waterproofing systems. \u201cWe are licensed with all of the major manufacturers to install their products,\u201d Olson says. \u201cWe install basically every roofing and waterproofing system that\u2019s available to the market. We have a sheet metal division that produces metal wall panels, roofing and general sheet metal.\u201d <\/p>\n The new hospital features green roofs on the main hospital, central plant and parking structure. The garden roof section on level three of the main hospital building is shown here. Photo: Stanford Health Center. Communication is the key, according to Olson. \u201cWe have weekly sales meetings where all of the project managers and sales staff get together,\u201d Olson says. \u201cWe share information, which allows us to learn from our failures and successes. It\u2019s a team atmosphere. There is no real competition between the sales guys other than the innate competition that you each have to be better. We don\u2019t compete against each other; we all work together for the common goal.\u201d <\/p>\n Keeping the lines of communication open with industry partners is a key part of the puzzle. \u201cAs far as communication with the general contractor, that\u2019s pretty simple, but a lot of people miss that,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to return phone calls. You have to return emails. If you have an issue on a project, handle the issue efficiently. Bring scheduling problems or details issues to the attention of the general contractor early. Nobody like to be surprised. People like to be informed.\u201d <\/p>\n Due to their expertise in design-build situations, members of the Letner team are often called in by general contractors at the design and budgeting stage to offer advice on the right materials and methods for a project. <\/p>\n That was the case with the new Stanford Hospital project and general contractor Clark\/McCarthy\u2014a joint venture of Clark Construction Co.<\/a> and McCarthy Building Cos.<\/a> \u201cMcCarthy is a contractor I\u2019ve been dealing with for more than 25 years. I\u2019ve done a lot of health care projects with them, so when Stanford came out, they certainly wanted our input and help developing the budgets,\u201d notes Olson. <\/p>\n For Letner, the project involved several scopes of work including roofing on the main hospital and below-grade and underslab waterproofing.<\/p>\n Below-grade work included a pre-applied blind-side waterproofing application by Cetco<\/a>. Letner also waterproofed underground tanks for domestic water, fire suppression, and sewage with a hot rubber system by Gaco Western<\/a>. \u201cThe hospital was built for the worst-case scenario,\u201d Olson notes. \u201cIf there is a big earthquake, and services are interrupted, the hospital can sustain itself for a while.\u201d <\/p>\n This aerial photo shows the new Stanford Hospital, which is currently under construction. When completed in 2018, the complex will showcase 16 different roofing systems on 12 different elevations. Photo: Stanford Health Center.<\/p><\/div>As the superstructure was being completed, the roofing work began. \u201cAs I said, there are 16 different roofing systems on this project. There are 12 different elevations,\u201d notes Olson. <\/p>\n Systems range from urethane and urethane and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) coatings to split-slab and inverted hot rubber systems, PVC roof systems and hybrid dual waterproofing system. The largest roofing systems include a Sarnafil<\/a> PVC roof on the main hospital and a hot rubber system by Cetco for use under the garden roofs. Letner is installing garden roofs on the third floor of the main hospital and another on the central plant building. <\/p>\n Both of these garden roofs were constructed over flat concrete decks. The first step was to provide positive slope for drainage. Cell-Crete Corporation <\/a>of Hayward, Calif., provided lightweight insulating concrete (LWIC), which was used to create positive slope. After the LWIC cured, crews from Cell-Crete installed quarter-inch cement board over the LWIC. <\/p>\n The hospital\u2019s surgery rooms are directly beneath the garden roof on the main hospital, so the system has to be bulletproof. \u201cThis roof area requires intricate detailing along with a Cetco hybrid dual waterproofing system,\u201d Olson states. \u201cAfter the lightweight concrete and cover board are in place, Letner will install 60 mils of Hydrofix urethane membrane, followed by Cetco Corflex, a unique combination of a re-enforced KEE membrane bonded to an active polymer core membrane. Both garden roof areas will be protected with an in-place leak detection system by Internal Leak Detection.\u201d <\/p>\n The overburden at the hospital garden roofs will include insulation, drainage mats, various types of plants and trees and pedestal paver systems. <\/p>\n Letner installed PVC roof systems from Sika Sarnafil level three of the hospital and on the main roof of the hospital. The 60-mil PVC membrane was installed over insulation and DensDeck cover board. Insulation was a minimum of R-20 near the drains. Some sections of the PVC were topped by ballast rock. <\/p>\n On the adjoining multi-level parking deck, Letner installed PVC roofs on two office buildings. The rest of the roofing and waterproofing work on the parking structure, including another garden roof, was completed by Courtney Waterproofing and Roofing<\/a> of Irvine, Calif. <\/p>\n Letner and the general contractor help ensure safety is always top of mind at the site. \u201cOn this project, like any other, the safety issues were extremely important,\u201d notes Olson. \u201cWe have our crews stretch and flex daily, and everyone must wear the personal protective equipment required for each task. Fall protection is a concern at every elevation, and hot rubber is extremely hazardous activity that requires additional protection and monitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n Elastizell lightweight insulating concrete from Cell-Crete was used to provide slope for drainage on the flat structural concrete decks. It was later topped with cement board. Photo: Cell-Crete<\/p><\/div>The perimeter walls were being constructed during the project, so extra precautions had to be taken at the roof edge. \u201cWe had to wear harnesses and be tied off at all times,\u201d Olson says. \u201cWe are very concerned about safety. We have a safety manager, and he does a very good job of identifying possible hazards on each job. We identify those per deck and apply the proper safety measures required for each elevation.\u201d <\/p>\n Waterproofing the tanks also required special care. \u201cThe domestic water, waste and fire tanks and are in the ground, so you have to have people certified to do that work with specialized equipment,\u201d Olson states. <\/p>\n Construction of the hospital is still underway. Work is expected to be completed in 2018. The sheer size and multiple scopes of work were obvious challenges on the project, but the schedule was also tight\u2014and subject to change. Some roof details were changed and others were developed as the job progressed, so Letner\u2019s crews had to make some adjustments on the fly. Letner continues to work with the consultant on the project, ABB, to iron out the details. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you have to adjust the schedule when you are coordinating the work with other trades,\u201d Olson notes. \u201cThe schedule, coordinating with other trades and the number of changes on the job have been the biggest issues we\u2019ve faced. It\u2019s is still a challenge, as the work is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n When it came time to stage equipment and materials, the large job site suddenly seemed small. \u201cThe site was kind of tight, so of course logistics came into play with loading and off-loading each different area,\u201d he says. \u201cSome areas were hard to get to, and sometimes we had to wheel the product through corridors to get to the decks. Not everything was easy to get to. Logistics were difficult, but we were able to overcome those problems. Clark\/McCarthy helped out quite a bit with logistics and loading.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the complexity of the job, the installation work has gone smoothly, according to Olson. \u201cAs far as the application for our field crews, there\u2019s not that much difficulty for them. They are all very talented at what they do,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just a very difficult building, and there are a lot of details that are not typical.\u201d <\/p>\n The key to overcoming difficulties? \u201cIt\u2019s constant communication,\u201d Olson says. \u201cOur strengths are our management teams, from the field operations to office staff. We\u2019re honest with our customers. They understand the level of customer service and quality we deliver. Our success is a testament to the service we provide to our customers. We are often praised for our service and workmanship, and we are very proud of our quality installations as well.\u201d On the adjoining multi-level parking deck, Letner Roofing installed PVC roofs on two office buildings. The rest of the roofing and waterproofing work on the parking structure, including another garden roof, was completed by Courtney Waterproofing and Roofing. Photo: Stanford Health Center.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Architect: General Contractor: Roofing and Waterproofing Contractors:The Company<\/h4>\n
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<\/p><\/div>Olson believes the company\u2019s success begins with its great alliances with top general contractors and owners. \u201cOur strengths are our customer service and quality control, and our ability to get projects done efficiently and on time,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that\u2019s why general contractors choose us. We do what we say we\u2019re going to do, we do it efficiently, and we take a lot of pride in the finished product.\u201d<\/p>\nUnderground, Overhead<\/h4>\n
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Safety Precautions<\/h4>\n
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Challenging Schedule<\/h4>\n
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TEAM<\/h3>\n
\nRafael Vi\u00f1oly Architects in association with Lee, Burkhart, Liu Inc. <\/p>\n
\nClark\/McCarthy\u2014a joint venture of Clark Construction Co.<\/a> and McCarthy Building Cos.<\/a> <\/p>\n
\nMain hospital building and offices: Letner Roofing<\/a>, Orange, Calif.
\nAdjoining parking structure: Courtney Waterproofing and Roofing<\/a>, Irvine, Calif.<\/p>\n