Denver, Colorado (1/23/2001) --- There is 200,000 square feet of roofing surface on the new Bronco Stadium in Denver, Colo., but little of it is above the open-air structure. This unique situation, where the roofs cover concession stands, restrooms and concourses found workers installing seats above the sections where roofing contractors were installing roofing membrane.
"This was a very unique job," said Tim Drotar, superintendent of CEI Roofing Company, Inc., Denver, Colo. "Usually we are working above the other trades. In this case, they were working above us, requiring a great deal of coordination."
Safety was the primary consideration. The roofing crews could not use flammable adhesives while welders were installing seats overhead. In some cases, the specification was changed to accommodate safety concerns switching fully adhered roofing membranes to mechanically attached.
According to Charlie Thornton, the project manager for the general contractor, Turner Construction, the coordination was managed through weekly meetings with the entire field staff. Dave Masel, the senior superintendent responsible for all field operations and Bryan Poppen, the façade superintendent who provided direct interface with the roofing contractor, kept the project flowing smoothly.
"This was a real team effort," said Richard Ramirez, the Johns Manville technical assistant on the job. "This was a design-build project and we had to make modifications as we went and do them in a way that met the criteria for a 15-year guarantee."
Two different Johns Manville single-ply roofing membranes were selected for the project. The company's UltraGard® EPDM mechanically attached roofing system was used on those areas not visible from the air. A gray UltraGard PVC adhered membrane was used on all other sections. The dual specification is both aesthetically pleasing and cost effective. JM also supplied all other components of the total roofing system.
Extensive use of Expand-O-Flash® and Expand-O-Gard® expansion joints were used on the project said Lee Drotar, operations manager for CEI West. This detail accommodates building movement, which is likely to happen as Bronco fans cheer on their team. There were numerous other unique flashing details. For example, where beams came in at a lower level than originally envisioned, it was necessary to flash them into the membrane system to maintain watertight integrity.
The job presented a number of other challenges as well. Instead of climbing ladders, the roofing crew, led by coordinating foreman, Sammy Berella, were climbing through 2'x2' holes to get under the stands. Instead of working outside in the elements, the crews were working in heat radiating from an oven or at other times in cold air next to a freezer. According to Rick Rice, sheet metal manager for CEI West, this was an unusually unique roofing project.
The careful coordination and circumvention of potential hazards paid off. This project to date has had no lost time accidents. This required careful coordination between the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, the joint venture team of Turner Construction and HNTB Sports Architecture, CEI West Roofing Company and Johns Manville.
Johns Manville is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building products. The 143-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
