Capital Welding Roof Retrofit

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Sometimes enough is enough.

Since its construction in the early 1970s, the roof of the 170,000 sq. ft. Capital Welding Company building in Dameron, MD, had been maintained through periodic patching and caulking. But with numerous leaks and the interior gutters rusting through, the time had come for a complete replacement. And while such a project can be costly and disruptive, the impact in this case was lessened significantly by the use of an innovative retrofit method that allowed for the installation of a new metal roof without first removing the old.

Trossbach Construction, Great Mills, MD, was hired to solve the building’s leaky roof problems. It had constructed a large recreational facility for the building’s owner in 2004, so there was no reason to doubt the company’s suggested approach to this project. Its recommendation was to put the new metal roof right over the top of the old and with the owner’s consent, that’s exactly what it did.

The key to the success of this approach was Trossbach’s utilization of Roof Hugger sub-purlins between the two roofs. These patented sub-structurals, manufactured by Roof Hugger Inc. of Lutz, FL, are notched on the bottom so that they conform to the profile of the old roof while providing a flat surface for the new panels to attach to. Using the Roof Huggers, Trossbach began covering the building’s old 26-gauge R-panel metal roof with new 24-gauge Galvalume-coated steel panels, manufactured by Lancaster, PA-based Fabral. The installation was handled in 10,000 sq. ft. phases and took approximately five months to complete.

Though the project was relatively straightforward, the contractor did redesign the way the building’s two sloped roof sections—one 55,000 sq. ft. on a 2:12 pitch and the other 115,000 sq. ft. at 4:12 pitch—emptied into an interior gutter. As a result of that customization, the gutter is now larger than before, and the pitches of the roofs where they meet the gutter are slightly different.

For more information about Roof Huggers, call (800) 771-1711, or visit www.roofhugger.com/index.asp?ctid=908.  

For additional information about the metal roofing products offered by Fabral, call (800) 477-2741, or visit www.fabral.com.