Leaky Roof Deck Saved by Duradek Vinyl Waterproofing

Project: The Lofts at Mercer Roof Deck – Macon, GA

THE PROBLEM – Leaky Roof Deck

Planning for a large rooftop recreation area, the last thing you want to deal with is a leaky roof deck. When a large construction firm had the task of completing a 10,000 sq. ft. roof deck on the new construction of a college housing building, they contacted Duradek of Georgia who had helped them with a 2,000 sq. ft. roof deck a year earlier.

With construction underway, just 10 days before the planned Duradek installation, the building owner decided to go a different route with the waterproofing of the massive rooftop deck. The assembly was a solid base of ¾ʺ T&G plywood as the subbase, a ½ʺ sound blocking product, and a 2ʺ concrete surface. However, for the waterproofing component, they sealed the roof with a liquid coating which almost always fails without regular reapplication due to cracking.

Within two years, the property manager placed an urgent call for Duradek of Georgia to revisit the project. The roof deck was leaking into the floors below causing damage to the building.
Left unaddressed, this moisture damage issue was certain to cause even further costly repairs.

Leaky roof deck prepared for the Duradek waterproof vinyl membrane installation. — The failed liquid coating was ground off to prepare for the Duradek installation. The bottom layers of siding on the walls were removed to allow the Duradek waterproof membrane to be integrated into the building envelope for complete waterproof protection.

THE DURADEK™ SOLUTION

After the property manager consulted with Duradek of Georgia, both parties agreed the first step was to ready the leaky roof deck surface to prepare it for the Duradek membrane. This involved the labor-intensive task of grinding off all of the failed liquid coating from the roof deck. Then surface leveling compounds were applied to ensure water was routed towards drains which were placed to meet the local building code requirements.

Water routing preparation before Duradek vinyl membrane installation — Prior to the Duradek membrane installation, a leveling compound was used to ensure water is routed towards drains and there will be no ponding water.

Once the surface was properly prepared, Duradek Heritage Agate with cool roof qualities was installed. Applied with adhesives and heat welded seams to fully join the 6 ft width of the vinyl sheets, Duradek provided a completely water-tight seal. Duradek is installed only by applicators that are trained in the techniques required to integrate the membrane into the building envelope which includes running the membrane a minimum of 8 inches up interior perimeter walls between the building paper and the cladding.

Overall, it took one week to install the Duradek membrane and the building owner was extremely happy with the results. To this day, the rooftop deck has not leaked and the property manager enjoys the peace of mind that comes with a reliable, low maintenance waterproof deck surface.

Roofing approved Duradek vinyl membrane protecting living space below massive leisure roof deck. — The roof deck at Mercer College Lofts is now reliably waterproofed, so the living space below is protected from leaks with the roofing approved protection of Duradek vinyl membranes.

JOB NOTES

On highly used common areas like the roof deck of these college residences, shutting down access is a troublesome prospect. For a liquid coating system to be properly maintained they would have had to regularly close off access for the application AND the drying time, which are both very weather dependent to be successful. With Duradek™, the surface could be walked on as soon as it was installed and it requires no reapplication through the course of its performance lifetime which is often well beyond its 10-year warrantied waterproof performance guarantee.