Pete V. Domenici Federal Courthouse
“We will never replace another roof without first considering this fluidapplied roof renovation option.”
— Paul Abernathy, project manager, General Services Administration (GSA)
Job Details
Location:
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Job Size:
35,000 square feet
Completion Date:
July 2013
gaf.com
General Contractor:
Payne Consulting Inc.
2501 Yale Blvd. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
(505) 506-9704
payneconsultingservices.com
Roofing Contractor:
Roof CARE
14810 Central Ave. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
(888) 336-3037
roofcare.us
Building Overview
• The Pete V. Domenici Federal Courthouse is located in the central business district of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Constructed in 1998, the building sits seven stories high
and contains over 200 federal employees, including U.S. Marshals, District Courts,
Pretrial, and Probation services.
• The Courthouse is a promoter of the GSA’s Art-in-Architecture Program, which aims to
enhance the civic meaning of federal architecture by showcasing American visual arts.
Therefore, the Courthouse features many beautiful pieces of artwork by famous
artists known around the region and throughout the nation.
Challenge
• Unfortunately, the roof of this seven-story landmark had been leaking for several
years and water was dripping into the chambers of the Federal Judges, disrupting
their work. Due to budgetary restrictions, the GSA could not afford to remove the
existing roof and replace it with an entirely new one.
Materials Used
• PremiumCoat® System applied to existing mod bit
• BarrierGuard® and HydroFiber for the pitch pans
Solution
• RoofCARE and Payne Consulting, Inc., satisfied the need for a leak-free, maintainable
roofing system through the strategic use of HydroStop’s PremiumCoat® Roof System.
PremiumCoat® is a fully adhered, reinforced-acrylic elastomeric roof system that will
never need to be removed or replaced. Every 15, 20, or 25 years, the top layers of
PremiumCoat® FinishCoat can be reapplied, creating a roof system that will last the
life of the building. HydroStop™ products for this specific job not only fulfilled the
requirement for a long-lasting roof, they also complied with the GSA’s commitment to
sustainability, making PremiumCoat® the perfect solution to this situation.
• The existing courthouse roof was a twelve-year-old modified cap sheet that had many
leaks, most of which originated at the pitch pans or resulted from ponding water near
the roof drains. The hundreds of pitch pans on the roof encapsulate screen wall
supports. To address them, the sheet metal caps were removed and a mix of
BarrierGuard® and HydroFiber was used to fill the void. This procedure not only made
the pitch pans watertight, it also created a cant for positive water flow. After the
penetrations and details were addressed, the fluid-applied nature of the
PremiumCoat® System allowed the crew to fully encapsulate the entire roof, details,
and base flashings in one seamless membrane.
Key Facts
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• As a Federal Courthouse, the security component of this job was an extremely
important consideration. RoofCARE and Payne Consulting, Inc., had to coordinate
work efforts around the court’s schedule. The crew of four to five men worked on the
roof for five months, and the courts required 72-hour notice before any crew
members could visit the roof.
• The roofing project was completed in conjunction with the renovation of three
rooftop-cooling towers, which further complicated the production process.