A safety-value partner to thousands of companies since 1946, the family-owned business also offers products and services to the consumer market under the HandMaster® and RoadMaster® brand names. In 2016, the decades-old 620,000-square-foot EPDM membrane roof system on Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing’s facility was failing and replaced by Ridgeworth Roofing Co. Inc., Frankfort, Ill.
Getting started
To begin the massive project, Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing ’s reroofing project team hired a roof consultant, NRCA member Interstate Roof Systems Consultants Inc., Elgin, Ill., to manage the project. Pleased with Ridgeworth Roofing ’s work on previous projects, Harvey Cohen, president of Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing, requested a bid from Ridgeworth Roofing. “We had good experiences during the past 20 years with Rod Petrick [owner of Ridgeworth Roofing] and the company,” Cohen says. “I was tickled pink Ridgeworth was the low bidder for the project by a nice amount. It wasn’t like they were close to everybody else. They were heads and tails better than everybody else.”
Safety
In May 2016, Ridgeworth Roofing began work on the project. Before commencing roofing work, Ridgeworth Roofing workers installed 65 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA-) compliant skylight fall-protection screens. A stair tower was constructed to create safe access for workers. OSHA fall protection was discussed with all teams and set up with assistance from Ridgeworth Roofing ’s safety consultant who also supplied weekly job-site inspections and reports. Keeping the building dry for more than 500 employees was achieved by scheduling daily meetings with the owner’s representative along with weekly updates with the owner.
Tear-off
Staging equipment and materials on the ground was a challenge. The best access points generally were in front of interior docks. “Working with our main material supplier, Bone Roofing Supply, we were able to schedule factory-direct deliveries every week,” Petrick says. “The building owner did offer some inside storage, which allowed us to stockpile a few days of material in case any delivery issues came up—none did.”
The roof areas over the Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing facility’s lower offices and the building ’s main section consisted of ballasted EPDM membrane with 2-inch-thick thermal insulation over a steel deck. Ridgeworth Roofing subcontracted with Olsson Roofing Co. Inc., Aurora, Ill., to remove the 7.5 million pounds of ballast, which was repurposed. Ridgeworth Roofing workers removed and recycled all the EPDM membrane, and any damaged base insulation was replaced during the removal process.
New TPO
The project’s overall size originally was a concern for Ridgeworth Roofing workers, but they took it one day at a time, which helped the project move along without any issues. “I remember talking to my project foreman one of the first days on the project and could sense he was overwhelmed,” Petrick says. “I told him we eat the elephant one bite at a time. The entire crew then became comfortable and production rates were above what I had anticipated.”
Ridgeworth Roofing workers mechanically attached two layers of 1.8-inch-thick polyisocyanurate insulation over the existing insulation followed by a layer of Invinsa® FR roof boards. Next, workers installed Johns Manville .080-inch-thick TPO membrane using an induction-welding process. All roofing-related sheet metal was installed by a subcontractor, Metal Edge, South Chicago Heights, Ill.
The Ridgeworth Roofing team worked with Johns Manville Roofing Systems, Denver, to create long-term solutions that reduced the project cost and lengthened the term of the no-dollar-limit warranty provided with the new roof system. “Having a long-term relationship with Magid Glove, I knew what the ownership was expecting with the new roof system,” Petrick says. “They were looking at an energy-efficient insulation with a reflective roof system that would also lessen the total loading on the structure. Working with our local Johns Manville representative, we were able to prepare a voluntary alternative that reduced the total overall cost and allowed for an extended warranty term.”
The Ridgeworth Roofing team also worked with Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing to modify some large HVAC equipment and remove abandoned equipment from the roof. “Rod and his people are as polite and nice as anybody you want to work with,” Cohen says. “If anybody ever came to me now going forward and asked about Ridgeworth Roofing, I’d tell them they are No. 1.”
Outstanding results
On Oct. 21, 2016, Ridgeworth Roofing completed its work on the Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing facility, successfully finishing work while allowing the client’s daily operations to continue without disruption. “We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to demonstrate the skill and expertise of our team on this scale,” Petrick says. “It gave Ridgeworth and our employees an opportunity to prove a large project like this is well within our capabilities. This was our largest project to date, and our team rose to the challenge with outstanding results for a longtime client.”
Click here to view the article as it appeared in PROFESSIONAL ROOFING magazine.
