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The Right Rx for
Walgreens
Wherever one travels lately, it seems
you don't have to go far to find a Walgreens drug and convenience
store. As you're probably aware, that isn't an accident. Walgreens
embarked upon an aggressive growth plan a couple of years
ago to increase their presence and business. Subsequently,
their infrastructure had to accommodate this growth as well.
This included their need to greatly expand their accounting
center. The new home they chose was a closed factory in Danville,
Illinois. Not only did the building require major renovation
to convert its prior use to a functioning office space with
state- of-the-art computers, it also desperately needed a
new roof.
The existing roof construction consisted
of a sprayed-in-place polyurethane foam (PUF) system that
was installed over a built-up roof and insulation on a structural
metal deck. The roof was no longer performing and had to be
removed prior to a new roof being installed.
The
existing roof was also host to over 30 non-functioning
HVAC units and smoke vents that had also been covered
with the PUF. Most of the curbs of these sprayed over
units also had been previously flashed with asbestos
flashings. Because of the nature of the new occupancy
and the computer systems that needed to be installed,
an intensive new air conditioning system became a part
of the renovation process. This meant that these units
and curbs were to be removed and new HVAC units and
curbs installed. |
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Another 60 miscellaneous projections
were also to be removed and decked over.
Walgreens had already begun their interior renovation with accounting
employees already working in a portion of the plant before roofing
work was scheduled. This meant that noise and odor control was
needed to not adversely affect their production. Because of
the nature and complexity of the renovation, several trades
were on site and the work had to be carefully coordinated to
meet the tight schedule and owner's needs.
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Christiansen - Chicago had developed a close
working relationship with Honeywell, a supplier of coal tar
pitch roofing systems, and was asked by them to participate
in an invitation only negotiating process. Honeywell had also
worked with Walgreen's roof consultant, RRK Associates, Ltd.
(based in Libertyville, IL) to develop a working specification
for this project. Walgreens was looking for a long term roofing
solution that included low life cycle costs. Their collaboration
with Honeywell and RRK resulted in a system installed by Christiansen
that would provide them with many years of functional, cost
effective service.
After several site inspections and meetings
with Walgreens and RRK Associates, the million dollar plus
contract was awarded to Christiansen. The work scope included
demolition of the existing HVAC units and curbs, decking-in
of the holes created by their removal, coordinating with the
mechanical contractor the installation of the new curbs into
the roof system, carpentry to create new perimeter and expansion
joint details, abatement of asbestos containing roofing materials,
architectural sheet metal, and of course, the removal and
replacement of over 180,000 square feet of roofing.
The new roof system that was ultimately
selected was Honeywell's four ply coal tar pitch built-up
roof system. The roof membrane was installed over a 1/2"
layer of high density wood fiber insulation which was fully
mopped in asphalt over the 2.3" layer of isocyanurate
insulation. The base layer of "iso" was mechanically
fastened to the metal deck. This of course was after the existing
roof - over 5" thick - was torn off and removed. Material
handling/moving proved to be a critical factor in keeping
the project on schedule and on budget.
In order to reduce the concentration of
fumes at the job site, tankers were used to heat both the
asphalt and coal tar pitch for the duration of the project.
Also, much of the demolition work was done during early morning
hours to minimize noise for the Walgreens employees.
Even though much of the building had yet
to be renovated inside, all areas still had to be kept in
a watertight condition. It proved a challenge on a daily basis
making certain that the new roof had a proper overnight watertight
connection with the existing coated foam materials.
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The
project was completed on schedule to the satisfaction
of both Walgreens and RRK Associates. Many trips and
hours of commitment were made by the Christiansen staff
to bring the project to a successful conclusion. The
Christiansen - Chicago project team leaders were Tom
Kallstrom, Project Manager, David Krutilla, Superintendent,
and Genero Cruz, Roofing Foreman who brought over 70
years of experience to Danville.
After over 320 (30 yd) dumpsters
of removed roofing were filled, 60,000 fasteners were
drilled, 1500 rolls of roofing felt were laid in 375,000
pounds of pitch, and 500 tons of gravel was installed,
Walgreens now has the assurance that their accounting
functions will not be jeopardized by leaky and unreliable
roofs.
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F.J.A. Christiansen - Chicago, through their
parent company Tecta America Corp., has developed an on-going
partnership with Walgreens and RRK Associates, to perform
service and preventative maintenance work at many of the Walgreens
stores in their Chicago and and Midwest region. This program
will allow for the early identification of roof problems,
correction of those deficiencies, priority scheduling in individual
store re-roofing needs, and overall better control of roof
asset costs.
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