Obstacles to success are many in the commercial roofing business. The only way to overcome those obstacles is to do whatever it takes to make a job successful. The Newport Hospital roof replacement project in Newport, Washington illustrates this point.
Spokane Roofing Company originally bid the job as a roof recover. It did not take long to discover that what was needed was a full tear off and installation of a new roof. We started on one section and found that the old roof had rusted through the corrugated sheet metal pan decking. We had to tear off the rusted decking and remove several inches of wet insulation.
An existing R-Mer Lite® roof was only 20 years old, but it had leaked for many years. The leaks and even flooding were beginning to impact hospital operations. It had to be replaced. When we discovered that we could not go over the top of the existing roof, we had to submit four change orders, which revised the cost of the job for the hospital. Customers can often be a tough sell on large change orders, but Newport Hospital was a wonderful partner.
The submittal went to the manufacturer’s representative and was approved by the architect, who applied costing parameters to assure that the increased project cost was fair and reasonable. It is more of an administrative protocol because it comes down to whether to proceed with the project or not. The hospital recognized that installation of a completely new roof was necessary.
The approximately 35,000 square foot roof comprised five sections of low slope roofing of differing types. The existing roofs were black EPDM, white TPO, and TPO over asphalt composite shingles. Garland R-Mer Lite riveted aluminum roofing covered the original hospital building section. Spokane Roofing Company tore off most of the existing roof and any wet insulation, down to the plywood roof deck. Spokane Roofing raised all replacement roofing materials to the hospital’s roof using a telescopic forklift located in a dedicated staging area. The entire operation proceeded safely without business interruption or incident.
Steel plates and screws mechanically attached the TPO roofing membrane and polyiso insulation to the roof deck. Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. in Spokane Valley, WA supplied most of the roofing materials for the project, which took about seven weeks to complete.
Newport Hospital & Health Services received a 20-year No Dollar Limit (NDL) warranty from GAF, due to its excellent roofing products and Spokane Roofing’s professional installation.
One saving grace on large projects like this one is that there are only a handful of credible companies in the Spokane Metro area able to perform the work. Spokane Roofing has the manufacturer’s certification and financial bonding to do it.
We have professionals at every level who are good at what they do, and my goal as a business owner is to minimize the weak links. Having a good foreman is especially critical, and savvy office operations staff are essential, too.
Our ability to adapt to changing conditions is a key to our success, and there were significant challenges on this job. We coordinated with the hospital on every step, including Life Flight Network™ helicopter arrivals. Our goal and theirs was to have a minimal impact on their services, and we were able to do that. We had daily construction meetings and weekly progress meetings. In the end, everyone was happy with the result.
The ability to adapt and persevere will overcome many faults, in life and in business. Many things are unknowable until they happen. It can be difficult to keep working through setbacks, but you have to keep moving forward. Spokane Roofing Company has had to adapt to a changing business climate, where competition is fiercer than ever. It often has become more difficult to find quality employees with a strong work ethic post-COVID.Yet, we overcome all obstacles.
There is a reason that Spokane Roofing Company has been successful for more than 110 years. From the beginning of a commercial roofing project until its completion, we have the right people in the right places, adapt to changing conditions, and do whatever it takes to make sure that our customers are happy with our work. Call Spokane Roofing at (509) 838-8633 to schedule a free commercial roof inspection and free estimate. Let us fix your roof’s persistent leaks and restore your building’s watertight integrity.