"It's always difficult to predict what we will need to store when we acquire a facility," said Molly Wolcott, project manager, Virginia Port Authority. "Cocoa beans are a very sensitive crop and are highly regulated for moisture, dust and rodents. The shipment could be in storage for a long time depending on cocoa bean futures, so it's critical to have a very good roofing system. It's just lucky we were reroofing at the time," she said.

 

That left little time for the architects, Glenn & Sadler, a division of TranSystems, of Norfolk, VA and the roofing contractor, American Sheet Metal also of Norfolk, to remove the old roof and replace it for the August arrival of the cocoa beans. In fact, American Sheet Metal completed the portion of the roof where the beans would be stored early in order to accommodate the shipment before proceeding with the rest of the project. This could only be accomplished through the teamwork of the Virginia Port Authority, the architect, roofing contractor and manufacturer.

 

Bill Wills, senior associate for Glenn & Sadler specified a two-ply SBS modified system. This type of system is extremely easy to maintain and provides for flexibility should the use of the facility change.

 

In addition, the Port Authority allowed the contractor to store roofing system materials on-site in the covered warehouse. "This kept the materials in near factory condition since they weren't exposed to the elements," said Wills.

 

As the old four-ply roof was removed, the contractor found rusted metal decking that had to be removed before the new two-ply Johns Manville roofing system was installed. Fortunately, the job was expedited because Wills had worked with the Port Authority to develop a flexible contract to keep the project on schedule and budget.

 

"We established a contractual vehicle to allow the roofer to keep roofing," Wills said. "We specified unit priced items, and in the case of metal deck repairs, a base bid quantity in anticipation of unfavorable concealed conditions. That kept the project moving," he said.

 

The roofing system consisted of Johns Manville E'NRG'Y 2™ and tapered E'NRG'Y 2 insulation. The contractor was able to use pre-cut crickets since the drain-to-drain distances were similar. This proved to be a labor and material savings vehicle. The base sheet was JM DynaBase® XT and the cap sheet was DynaGlas® 30 FR. DynaClad™ aluminum was used for the curb and perimeter flashings. Because the main part of the warehouse was in five different sections, Expand-O-Flash® was used to cover the building's curb-to-curb expansion joints. It was supplied in rolls to minimize material handling and the number of splices. Johns Manville made factory-fabricated fittings and transitions for the job's special conditions by using contractor supplied field-verified measurements and photos of the conditions.

 

"We selected a Johns Manville roofing system largely because of Randy Sansbury, the JM representative on the job," said Ray Mangus, chief operating officer, American Sheet Metal. "He's very accessible and not afraid to present new ideas to the architects and owners. He recommended changing from metal flashing to Expand-O-Flash and he also suggested the pre-cut crickets. Both proved to be labor-saving devices," he explained.

 

Johns Manville is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building products. The 142-year-old Denver-based company had sales of $2.2 billion in 1999. Johns Manville employs approximately 9,700 people and operates 55 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.