High School Roofing "Trash" Is City's "Treasure"

IRONWOOD, MI - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - Wayne Nasi Construction has started work on the L. L. Wright High School roof. Roof Vac Plus out of Onalaska Wisconsin is shown vacuuming the rock off the roof and loading it into the City of Ironwood trucks. The city gets the washed rock free for hauling it away. The rock will be used by the city as a drainage base when installing hydrants along with various other uses.

According to the their website, "Roof Vac Plus is the first choice in removing rock for your reroof projects. Whether its ballast river rock, or pea gravel from built up roofs, Roof Vac Plus is the upper Midwest leader. With an experienced staff and nothing but the best equipment, even the biggest toughest jobs are a breeze. With good help and good equipment that allows us to be the fastest, most economical vac service in the region."

Most buildings with flat or nearly-flat roofs, like the L. L. Wright High School building, are topped with built-up roofing, or "tar-and-gravel" roofing, made from fiberglass-based asphalt sheeting that is applied in layers, with hot bitumen mopped on between each layer.

The surface is coated with bitumen and a layer of gravel or crushed rock. The rock serves several purposes: (1) to hold the roofing material down; (2) to minimize damage from the sun and from abrasion; and (3) to temporarily absorb excess moisture, acting as a cooling agent. The light-colored gravel also reflects the sun’s heat. Built-up roofs can last from 10 to 20 years, depending on the severity of the weather. 

Wayne Nasi Construction will be installing a new Duro-Last roofing system. According to the Duro-Last website, "Duro-Last's custom-prefabricated, reinforced, PVC roofing system is ideal for any flat or low-sloped application. Extremely durable and easily installed by authorized contractors without disruption to daily operations, the Duro-Last single-ply roofing system is also leak-proof, resistant to chemicals, fire and high winds, and virtually maintenance-free. Over a billion square feet of the Duro-Last PVC roofing system membrane have been installed on all types of commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings throughout North America."

"Prefabrication of Duro-Last’s PVC roof membrane not only reduces the material waste associated with the installation of most rolled systems, it also eliminates 80-85% of the typical on-site, labor-intensive seaming required for other single-ply roofing systems. The Duro-Last roofing system also comes complete with all accessories included."

According to Wayne Nasi Construction's website, "The Midwest has many different types of weather conditions. The spring brings strong thunderstorms, the summer delivers temperatures that can climb past 100, and the long winter brings snow and temperatures plummetting to 30 below zero. After researching many single-ply roofing systems, Wayne Nasi Construction found a roofing system that really works."

"In 1983, Wayne Nasi Construction became an authorized Duro-Last contractor and has been installing roofs in the commercial and industrial market throughout Michigan (Upper Peninsula), Wisconsin, and Minnesota. They have installed and warranted 1,550 roofs totaling over eight million square feet of membrane."

"Wayne Nasi Construction is consistently listed among the top 15 Duro-Last contractors in the nation. The durability of the membrane and backed by the industry's best warranties are only a few of the reasons the Duro-Last roofing system is the only roofing roofing system Wayne Nasi Construction will install."