Case Study: NJ Municipal Building Roof Replacement

The Project: Municipal Building Roof Replacement, City of Westville NJ

Anderson Contractors halted the extensive water damage and replaced an aging roof quickly, even when there were unforeseen plumbing challenges.

The Situation: Extreme roof leaks in the City Hall and Police Department had damaged computers. Files were at risk. The city needed an immediate solution to stop the damage. After assessing the leaks and roof, Anderson Contractors realized the city building had layer and layer of roofing materials on it, one roof on top of another. The underlying roofs were saturated and this 1950s structure was in desperate need of a roofing rehaul.

Municipal Building Roof Replacement Done The Right Way

Anderson Contractors tore off the existing roofing layers all the way to the wood deck. Three-and-a-half inches of insulation with an R20 factor was needed. Then they mechanically attached the roofing system. While time was of the essence, Anderson Contractors wanted to make sure this roof lasted. They quickly realized the drainage system was out-of-date and failing as well. There were drains that had deteriorated and couldn’t be reused. Water flow would be redirected through tapered crickets but that wouldn’t be enough. New commercial drains would need to be installed, which would require adjusting the aging plumbing hookup. This would have caused a major delay with most roofers. They simply don’t have the capabilities of handling plumbing emergencies. While Anderson isn’t an everyday plumber, they have experienced personnel with the necessary plumbing skills in the case of this type of situation. Since no one knew the condition of the drains and pipes until they saw them, Anderson Contractors didn’t have the parts on hand. This wasn’t going to stop them from fixing this emergency situation. They covered approximately 100 miles to get the product and parts needed and to complete that plumbing install.

Emergency Plumbing Install? No Problem!

Anderson Contractor’s team opened the roof, broke apart the ceiling to expose the drain lines, cut out the cast-iron pieces to install new PVC, and then hooked up the new drain. The next day the area received more than an inch of rain and not a drop permeated the building. If Anderson Consulting hadn’t hustled to get everything under a watertight roof and address the outdated plumbing issues, there would’ve been a disaster. This project yielded our client, the City of Westville:

• A quick solution to a dire facilities problem that was causing work stoppages
• An upgraded roofing system that was now compliant to 21st-century code
• Rapid replacement of outdated plumbing that was part of the leaking problem
• No downtime or business stoppage while the roof was installed