Roofing with merit

• 
• 
• 
• 

Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is recognized as a leading regional public university, offering more than 100 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in the liberal arts and sciences and applied professional fields. In 2010, U.S. News & World Report ranked Towson University No. 8 in the Public Universities—Master's category.

Located in the suburban town of Towson, 8 miles north of Baltimore, the school's 329 acres are beautifully landscaped, providing a pleasant study environment. With nearly 22,000 students, Towson University is among the largest public universities in Maryland. The college combines research-based learning with practical applications, and its many interdisciplinary partnerships with public and private organizations throughout Maryland provide opportunities for research, internships and jobs.

During the summer of 2011, two of the school's residence halls, Newell Hall and Richmond Hall, were renovated. As part of the renovations, replacement of vintage copper roofing, slate and decorative copper flashings were specified. Chosen for its reputation in the area for restoring historic roof systems, Ruff Roofers Inc., Baltimore, was selected to perform the roof system renovations.

Scope of work

In September 2011, Ruff Roofers began work on the two buildings that included selective demolition of copper flashings on a slate roof system; replacing decorative copper gutters, downspouts and conductor heads; performing selective slate repairs and replacement; fabricating and installing standing-seam copper roof panels; installing nail boards and slate on a new addition; and demolishing and replacing low-slope built-up roofing with polymer-modified bitumen membrane roofing over eight elevations and configurations.

Scaffolding was erected, but all sides of the buildings were not accessible. As a result, all debris and materials had to be carried by hand to and from the scaffolding. Because of limited access points, Ruff Roofers carefully coordinated the various roof elevations and performed some work out of typical sequence to eliminate traveling over newly completed work. In these instances, Ruff Roofers detailed the transitions between roof planes to allow execution of work as desired.

About 20 squares of slate repairs were made on the two buildings, and 14 squares of new 18-inch slate in random widths were installed on a new addition to Richmond Hall. Thirty-one squares of existing built-up roofing were removed from eight areas down to wooden, concrete and steel decks and replaced with polymer-modified bitumen membrane roofing.

A majority of work consisted of replacing copper flashings over 500 linear feet of valleys, 44 dormers and 350 linear feet of masonry parapets.

Newell Hall

Built in 1914, Newell Hall is the school's oldest residence hall. Because of the building's historical nature, Ruff Roofers was limited in its ability to change existing conditions. Some flashings had inadequate space to flash in a conventional manner. In particular, many of the dormers had parapets with limited wall heights between terra cotta coping and the slate roof. The parapets could not be disturbed or changed in any way, and the flashing clearance on most dormers varied from one side to another. Ruff Roofers gave special attention to the design and details of the sheet metal profiles to provide functional flashing without disturbing the original appearance.

Work on Newell Hall also presented the challenge of replicating decorative gutters with false bottoms. The false bottoms give the appearance of a level gutter and hide the gutter's sloped bottom. Each piece required fabrication to match the as-built field measurements of 30 different runs. Ruff Roofers created its own punches and dies to recreate the design, and no two pieces were alike, including the downspouts that also required custom fabrication.

Additionally, lower gutters also had a decorative triple-scallop design. Using 16-ounce and 20-ounce flat copper sheets, Ruff Roofers replicated the exact dimensions of the existing gutters in its sheet metal shop and the components were cut by hand. These gutter sections needed to be lapped and soldered, so Ruff Roofers had to establish the correct gutter lengths to allow the repeating scallop design to merge seamlessly without any offsets. Looking at the design from the ground, the scallop and gutter appear to be a single piece.

There also were two ornate castle-style conductor heads with spiral towers and crenulated pediments that needed to be intricately designed and fabricated. Two of the conductor heads needed to be fabricated to replace two that were missing. The various components were fabricated as single elements formed to fit each other and soldered in place while remaining watertight. There were more than 30 pieces in each conductor head, and the 3-D spirals made it difficult to bend in two planes without deforming the metal and exhibiting oil canning or unsightly, irregular bends. The spirals then were wrapped around the round tower sections while curving gracefully from bottom to top.

"The only difference between Ruff Roofers' work and the existing historic conductor heads is the patina," says Sean Lyons, principal for EYP Architecture & Engineering PC, Washington, D.C. "In time, Ruff Roofers' work will patina and be replaced by a future craftsman, and that craftsman will be required to replicate Ruff Roofers' historical work."

In addition, between each dormer, the design called for a sweeping copper roof system. The standing-seam copper roof system required careful layout and placement of the seams between the dormers to equalize space at end panels. Each piece was custom-curved to fit the deck's curve, and all panel joints were balanced between dormers to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Richmond Hall

In addition to selective slate repairs and new slate installation on Richmond Hall, Ruff Roofers fabricated flat-seam copper in the gussets to collect rain and snow from the slate roof systems and carry them to copper conductor heads. Special care was required to merge the roof systems to adjacent masonry and stone, setting copper flashings in the masonry to ensure watertight installation while maintaining the roof systems' historic design. Proper joinery was necessary for long-lasting wear, and Ruff Roofers' attention to metal details met the exact work requirements.

"Ruff Roofers' knowledge of proven sheet metal details was essential to creating a functional roof and flashing system," says Lyons. "Their craftsmanship transformed flat copper sheets into works of historic significance."

A brilliant end

When Ruff Roofers wrapped up its work in May 2012, it had custom-fabricated and installed 300 linear feet of decorative copper gutters, installed 200 linear feet of plain gutters, and custom-fabricated and installed 450 linear feet of copper downspouts. But it was not until the scaffolding was removed that the brilliant craftsmanship could be viewed by all.

"I think for all of us, seeing the completed work after the scaffolding was removed provided the most gratification," says Vern Quesenberry, sheet metal supervisor for Ruff Roofers. "Before that, we were not able to view all the completed work as a whole from a distance. After the scaffolding was removed, we could see the sum of the parts in their entirety and then the scope of work really was impressive."

For its exceptional craftsmanship and attention to historical details, Ruff Roofers received a Gold Circle Awards honorable mention in the Outstanding Workmanship: Steep-slope category.

Chrystine Elle Hanus is Professional Roofing's associate editor and NRCA's director of communications.

Project name: Towson University
Project location: Towson, Md.
Project duration: September 2011-May 2012
Roof system types: Copper; polymer-modified bitumen; slate
Roofing contractor: Ruff Roofers Inc., Baltimore
Product manufacturers: Black Diamond Slate,™ Savannah, Ga.; Johns Manville, Denver; Revere Copper Products Inc., Rome, N.Y.
Gold Circle Awards: Outstanding Workmanship: Steep-slope