Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504110022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: B. LYNN WILLIAMS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: PEMBROKE LENGTH: Medium
Because of Pembroke Town Council's agreement to allow its town hall to serve as a guinea pig for a national demonstration project, the leaky flat roof atop the Pembroke Municipal Building has been replaced at no cost to the town's residents.
"The roof was completely shot, with both sections holding four to six inches of water," Pembroke Town Manager Randi Lemmon said. The standing water was ruining ceilings and loosening mortar from the bricks which created a serious problem for the town. Its offices and Fire Department could suffer at best, water damage, and at worst, collapsed roofs.
After a roofing consultant declared the roof to be in a "failure mode" in September 1994, Lemmon knew the problem had to be corrected as quickly as possible. But the town treasury, like that of many small Virginia municipalities, lacked the money to replace or even to repair the roof. The estimate for a "patch job" alone was more than $12,000.
Clearly the town was in a difficult spot. Enter Joe Hale, of HDH Associates of Salem.
After examining the roof, he suggested some of his colleagues in the roofing industry might be interested in Pembroke's plight.
After he contacted experts at the Single Ply Roofing Institute , the Roof Consultants Institute and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, representatives from these groups examined the structure last October.
They decided the Pembroke site would be ideal for a national demonstration project on installing a quick-drying flat roof. The groups are trying to prove that thousands of flat, leaky roofs nationwide can be dried and repaired without the considerable expense of ripping off the old roof.
The municipal building met a variety of criteria for the groups. It's a public building with a flat roof on two different levels, which allows the groups to measure and compare the drying speed of different thicknesses of roofing insulation and of two different colors of roofing - black versus white. The town's climate with four seasons and its proximity to a roofing expert - Hale, who volunteered to oversee the project - were additional factors.
The Pembroke test will have national, "even international implications," said John Newark, executive manager of the roof consulting institute, one of the project's partners. "It's the opportunity to do something in the real world and provide an educational tool for industry."
Representatives from several of the roofing groups traveled to Pembroke earlier this week to watch the roof's application. A Canadian manufacturer supplied both the drains and an observer to monitor the roof's replacement.
The industry observers expressed excitement about the project.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which will receive the computer-generated data from Pembroke, is also conducting tests on whether used roofing materials can be reprocessed to repair potholes. It's part of the industry's effort to cut down on roof waste being dumped in landfills, Newark said.
In the test, which will last two years, the two areas of roof were separated into two experimental rectangles, alternating by color. Each of the four test areas lie atop one-half inch and two-inch insulation.
Next week, representatives from Oak Ridge will install the computerized monitoring devices to measure drying rates of the four areas. Newport resident Terry Allen, who also donated his time on the project, will assist in collecting data.
Hale downplays his involvement in the entire project. "It was just an opportunity for industry to do something worthwhile for a poor town," he stated quietly.
Lemmon, the Pembroke town manager, and the industry participants give Hale all of the credit.
"Pembroke couldn't be more delighted," Lemmon said. "Being chosen for a national demonstration project can be nothing but good for Pembroke."
by CNB