“You have things that are installed on the roof over the years, which you cannot remove, when you are applying insulation,” notes Carl Dettlebach, facilities manager for the Playhouse Square non-profit. “We felt because of [West Roofing Systems’] ability to target install you’d get a better seamless installation. The seamlessness of it is more reliable and stronger. In another building, we had a membrane roof that was released from the building during Hurricane Sandy. None of our spray foam roofs were damaged in that storm.”
For the SPF roof installation on the 14th Street Theatre, West Roofing Systems used a rigid, closed-cell spray polyurethane foam. High-density spray foam is primarily used in roofing applications, and this closed-cell, high-density SPF is what has been used time and again on the Playhouse Square buildings to provide compressive strength to the roof. In the 14th Street Theatre space, SPF was sprayed on the roof deck and vertical walls of the auditorium and on ductwork to help insulate it. The installation even went on to win an award in 2013 from the Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance for its sustainable and environmentally responsible construction practices. The Playhouse Square association is happy with the results.
“The spray foam has increased the R-Value by a factor of six,” Dettlebach explains. “We’ve got about 2 inches of foam on the roof, and that’s an R-Value of six per inch, so that’s the equivalent of applying R-12 to the roof.”
An Encore for 14th Street Theatre
A year after the completed renovations, the Driftwood Restaurants and Catering Group purchased the 14th Street Theatre from Playhouse Square. With a few cosmetic modifications, such as incorporating more stonework and wood to heighten the ambiance, Driftwood Restaurants and Catering Group successfully transformed the space into the restaurant Cibrèo and a private event space while retaining the distinguishing aspects of the theater, from the stage to the lighting.
“The opportunity to bring in Cibrèo and their business plan and operate a special event space was a cost-effective addition to the space,” Dettlebach says. “We work with our tenants as partners. This was a better plan to utilize the space.”
And the Driftwood Restaurants and Catering Group could not be happier with its new location in the Hanna Building nestled among the thriving theater district.
“We realized that Playhouse Square wanted to grow more and become more of an entertainment district, so, as a company, we wanted to be part of that growth,” adds Shawn Tatarowicz, assistant operations manager for Driftwood Restaurants and Catering Group. “We just fell in love with the spot, it’s a great space. We made the 14th Street Theatre a private room, it seats up to 175 people.”
Thanks to the renovations and SPF, the new owners can enjoy the improved building envelope. They can also feel confident that diners will enjoy the repurposed space in comfort for many years to come.
Tatarowicz notes: “It’s a pretty sound building, all the work that [Playhouse Square] did. Just the history of it and being part of Playhouse Square, it’s been huge. It’s a great partnership with Playhouse Square and with Driftwood. Every time people walk in, their breath is taken away by the space and everything that’s been done.”