Advanced Roofing, Inc. (ARI) was selected by Seacoast Towers Condominium Association to replace a 50,589 sq. ft roof system that was experiencing chronic leaks due to water infiltration in the flashings near the penthouse units. ARI was selected as the most qualified contractor for its ability to meet a tight timeline and provide superior service as a certified applicator of Sika Sarnafil systems with a 20-year No Dollar Limit (NDL) warranty. The company’s in-house crane, trash removal, and re-roofing services added value and helped ensure the project was completed on schedule and within budget, despite an imminent major hurricane closing in on South Florida.

Scope of Work

The original roof at the 174-foot high beachfront Seacoast Towers Condominium consisted of a cold tar pitch roof system with a gravel surface. The original roof was damaged due to several factors, including age, lack of maintenance, and environmental factors that came with its proximity to the ocean.

The Seacoast Towers Condominium Association requested a DÉCOR  Line custom Patina green color for the roof membrane that was aesthetically pleasing for the upper-level residents whose condos looked down on the rooftop. This project included the removal of the existing built-up roof, insulation, and metal flashings down to the concrete and metal decks. The roof system from the bottom up consists of foam down tapered 1.5” ISO, half-inch DensDeck cover board, and a fully adhered Sika Sarnafil S327 60mil PVC membrane. The Sarnafil membrane was chosen as it is time-tested and built to last, with many of its membranes holding up at more than 30 years of age.

Overcoming Challenges

Mother Nature and Seacoast Towers’ location posed unique challenges for this project. Located on the beach on heavily trafficked Collins Avenue in the heart of downtown Miami Beach made it was difficult for the crew to transport materials to the site and load in heavy equipment. Once on-site, they had restricted access to the properties on both the north and south to haul the crane and small boom truck, and no options for access to the east with the beach, or the west with highway A1A right at its door. The towers consisted of two roofs (upper and lower), making access a challenge, so walkways were constructed for seamless travel.

There were also obstacles to gaining access to the staging and roofing materials due to the building’s unique star-shaped design with four wings up at 170 feet. Materials could only be loaded into two wings of the roof and were manually hauled to the other two areas of the rooftop for production.

Hurricane Irma posed another challenge during the project. Projected to hit the Miami area as a catastrophic category 4 or 5 storm, the ARI team had to demobilize and secure the entire job site on short notice, including the tower crane, to prepare for the storm.

Safety

All work was done as the building was fully occupied by tenants. To ensure safety, materials were tied down at all times to avoid being potential hazards from the ocean’s frequent high winds. A safety monitor was utilized, and a tie-off was used on the upper roof with no walls. Frequent in-house safety visits along with weekly Toolbox Talks ensured that no safety incidents occurred during the project.

Conclusion

With the diligence and expertise brought to all ARI projects, the team was proud to provide a trusted Sika Sarnafil roofing solution that also allowed the Seacoast Towers Condominium Association to have a watertight and aesthetically pleasing roof system built to last. Our team’s attention to detail, expert problem solving and focus on safety resulted in completing the project without issues and to the client’s ultimate satisfaction.