commentThe Dallas County Community College District’s new headquarters building was built in the 1920s and was most recently the Sears Roebuck Building. When the district purchased the building in 2006, it had been abandoned for 15 years. Renovations included a new HVAC system, new exterior windows and roof, electrical and plumbing upgrades, accessibility upgrades and site improvements.
The building had numerous interior concrete spalls, metal lintels that were deteriorating, a roof that was comparable to Swiss cheese and 88-year-old, wax-based sealants at all key waterproofing joints.
Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing performed an extremely comprehensive scope of restoration services for the owner to make the building usable and enhance its architectural significance as a historical registered building. Chamberlin successfully completed this $930,000 large-scale project on time and accident free, meeting historical society requirements within a 20-week time schedule.
Faced with strict budget limitations, Chamberlin created a single-source approach to the repair process. The approach focused on new repair package materials and applications in which the complete package would involve a single-source manufacturer of high-quality products. The plan helped Chamberlin save the owner more than $100,000 in construction costs.
In addition, Chamberlin provided the owner with a single-source manufacturer’s warranty for materials from the manufacturer as well as a comprehensive contractor workmanship warranty for all the repairs at no additional charge.
As work progressed on the project, it became apparent that the interior patching of the concrete structure would be much more extensive to the slabs and beams. Chamberlin crews faced a tricky issue – how to keep newly repaired concrete moist and saturated in a condition that is horizontal and overhead, and not allow water to overtake the floors below.
Chamberlin improvised the solution to the problem by combining saturated burlap materials that were pinned to the applied concrete patching mortars. Crews then encapsuled the soaking burlap bags with plastic, leaving the ends accessible so additional water could be added. Once the concrete reached the optimal strength, the curing bags were removed and the areas where the bags were pinned into place were patched. The process was then repeated at the next location.
Key Players
Submitted by: Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing
Owner/developer: Austin/Con-Real Inc., Dallas
General contractor: Turner Construction, Dallas
Architect/structural engineer: Corgan Associates, Dallas
Roofing contractor: Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing, Dallas
Masonry contractor: Dee Brown Inc., Garland
Material manufacturer: Sika Corp., Lyndhurst, N.J.
Roofing material supplier: Tremco Inc., Plano
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