2007
Covington, Kentucky
Sika Sarnafil Earns its Stripes
Designed by the renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, The Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge luxury condominium building is eye-catching not only because of its crescent shape, but also because of the striped design of the concrete and glass curtain-walled structure, which continues up and over the sloping roof. Yet as beautiful as the building may be, finding a roofing system that would match those bands and which could be safely installed on this 22-story, steep-sloped structure was not easy. Fortunately, Sika Sarnafil and Midland Engineering Company were both “up” to the job.
Owner
Corporex Family of Companies
Roofing Contractor
Midland Engineering Company
South Bend, Indiana
Roofing System
Adhered system using Sarnafil® custom colored limestone and blue 60 mil G410 membrane
Project Size
15,000 square feet
The Roof as a Fifth Elevation
“Our goal in selecting a roofing system was to preserve the integrity of the design and have the stripes continue up over the facade and back down,” Karim explained. “There were several ways we could do that with a metal or pre-cast concrete roof, but problems arose with both approaches.” Karim said the problem with a pre-cast concrete roof was the additional weight load, whereas the concern with a metal roof was ensuring the penetrations were watertight.
Why Sika Sarnafil? “I was confident that Sika Sarnafil would be easy to work with in detailing how the two different colored membranes come together and would be able to satisfy everyone’s needs,” Kyle explained. “That was my ‘gut’ feeling, which was based on what I’d heard and past experience with Sika Sarnafil. They are a quality manufacturer and in the end, they lived up to my gut feeling.”
Banding Together for a Quality Installation
It can be tricky enough installing a roof system so that the stripes of the roof line up perfectly with the stripes on the building — but try doing that on a roof between 150 to 300 feet in the air with a slope (9/12) that equates to a 37 degree angle! “Because of the height and slope this was not a job roofing contractors were clamoring to do,” Sage said. “We became involved with this project because the owner saw we had worked on another building in Louisville with a very steep roof, so they asked us if we would be interested in this job.
It was this attention to detail as well as high quality work that won Midland Engineering Company First Place in Sika Sarnafil’s 2007 Project of the Year, steep slope category.
A Distinctive Yet Durable Roof
Since its installation the roof has been trouble-free and has not required any callbacks. “The roof is performing fantastically, and all parties are extremely pleased with the end result,” Sage stated. Kyle is also pleased with how the project went. “The roof is doing well and I would recommend both Sika Sarnafil and Midland Engineering again without hesitation, which says a lot,” he commented. Karim was also impressed. “I have nothing but good things to say about Sika Sarnafil and how the project was executed,” he stated. “They did an excellent job in preserving the integrity of the design and I was pleasantly surprised with how malleable the membrane is, allowing itself the ability to conform and take on different geometries.