Project Profiles
AfterGE/Sabic Innovative Plastics, Pittsfield, Mass.
Retrofit Team
Designer: EXTECH Design/Build, Pittsburgh, www.extechinc.com
Energy Analysis: Hesnor Engineering Associates PLLC, Adams, Mass., www.hesnor.com
Skylight Installers: Richard Dembski Co., Homestead, Pa., (412) 464-0415, and W.S.Nielsen Co. Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., www.wsnielsen.com
Roofing Contractor: D J Wooliver & Sons, Lanesboro, Mass., (413) 442-0192
Materials
A new 0.060-inch-thick clear-anodized aluminum standing-seam metal roof was installed, along with cellular polycarbonate structured sheet skylights, which were cold formed in the field to the curvature of the existing barrel vaults. All exposed fasteners were 300 Series stainless steel.
Manufacturer: EXTECH/Exterior Technologies Inc., www.extechinc.com
The Retrofit
This modern-looking building was built in the 1960s and features a long aluminum-skinned barrel vault roof. The skylights and roofing in the barrel vault had leaked for years.
The barrel-vault skylights were composed of two layers of thick, monolithic polycarbonate held together with gaskets that were not suitable for use with polycarbonate. The construction team removed the upper aluminum framing portions of the existing skylights, glazing material and gasketing. The inner portions of the skylight framing were structurally sound and, after an engineering review, were deemed to be sufficiently strong to accept the weight of the new system, as well as wind and snow loads.
The new system features waterproofing based on extruded aluminum framing with low-friction-coated gaskets and continuous sheets of 25- and 16-millimeter cellular polycarbonate panels. By using these long panels, all horizontal joints were eliminated, minimizing the possibility of leaks. The framing also includes plastic spacers that serve as thermal breaks.
PHOTO: EXTECH/Exterior Technologies Inc.