Property Types We Roof
Air Force Base Building Roofing near Federal Way, WA
On an Air Force base job the superintendent's first stop is the access office, not the building. He finds out how badges are issued, who escorts the crew, which gate delivery trucks use and what hours the flightline is restricted. Only then does he walk the deck and mark the tear-off limits.
McChord Field is the Air Force side of Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the base of the 62d Airlift Wing, which flies C-17 Globemaster III aircraft on a worldwide strategic airlift mission. More than 45,000 service members and civilian workers are counted on JBLM, which lies 20 to 25 miles to the south-southwest of Federal Way, WA. A roof plan on that scale begins with the base's rules and ends with a final walk of the finished work. Hangars and maintenance buildings, where an airfield has them, follow the sequence for a military hangar and maintenance facility, while administrative and support buildings follow the sequence for an Army installation building of the same type.
What does the first walk of a base building roof include?
The superintendent walks the deck with the roof plan and the base's work order beside it. Cores come out at the low corners, the drains and the spots beneath rooftop units. Pull tests on the fasteners say whether a recover is realistic or whether the deck has to be stripped to bare metal, concrete or wood before anything new goes down.
He notes what sits below each roof area: offices, shops, equipment rooms and any space the mission cannot lose. The result is a marked plan ranking each roof by consequence of a leak, which supports a request for funds. A roof condition report keeps the ranking in a form the base civil engineers can file. We record the roof system, the number of layers, the drain count and every repair we find, so the next engineer to inherit the roof does not start from scratch.
How are tear-off limits set when operations cannot stop?
Each day starts with the limit line painted on the roof, placed so the crew can tear off, insulate, install and seal inside one shift. On a base, the section may also be limited by the mission schedule: a bay in use, a room that must stay climate-controlled or an area under restricted access.
If the forecast turns, a temporary seal goes on the open edge and the crew leader checks it before leaving. Tacoma, about 9 miles north-northeast of JBLM, logs roughly 155 wet days and about 40.8 inches of precipitation a year, which keeps open areas small from October on.
Where do the crane, trucks and lay-down yard go on a base?
Staging on a base is assigned, not chosen. The base civil engineer or the contracting officer's representative names the lay-down yard, the delivery gate and the crane route. We submit a staging plan early and adjust to what is approved.
Badging, gate inspections and escorts all take time, so trucks come by appointment in small loads. Near a flightline, foreign-object debris is the main hazard, so magnets sweep every section, scraps are bagged where they fall and the work area is closed before the crew leaves. Federal roofing work usually answers to the Unified Facilities Criteria, so the submittal package is built to match. We ask for the base's current submittal format early, since a package that arrives in the wrong format loses a week, and a week of dry July weather is hard to recover once the wet season starts. Product data, test reports and the warranty form go in one binder, tabbed in the order the base reviewer reads them.
What is the order from tear-off to dry-in on a base roof?
A section goes through removal, deck inspection, substrate board replacement, insulation, membrane and edge seal, in that order. Torch work needs a permit and a fire watch; near fuel or aircraft we pick fastened or cold-applied systems.
A TPO roof or a standing seam metal roof are common choices on low-slope and steep base buildings, and the specification decides which products qualify. Cover board goes down where service crews walk to rooftop equipment. Temporary covers protect each open section until it is closed.
How do you tie in new roofing and secure the edges?
Base buildings often have additions from different decades, and each tie-in between roof levels is drawn on the plan with the flashing height, the termination bar and the sealant. A failed flashing at an old addition is a common source of leaks into an office.
Edge securement is planned against the November 2024 bomb cyclone. That storm put 74 mph on Enumclaw, the highest wind of any Washington community, and the edge work reflects it. The edge metal, the nailer and the wall behind it all get pull-tested, and the results go into the closeout file with the product data.
How do you work around mission operations and occupants?
Personnel keep working below the roof, so noise, dust and fumes are controlled. We locate air intakes and cover or relocate the ones near the work. Loud steps happen at times the unit commander or building manager approves, and the crew stays clear of entrances and egress paths.
The approach matches military installation roofing practice, with escorts at every step, an inventory of tools, no photography without approval and a daily check-in with the building contact. If a security rule blocks a delivery or a lift, the superintendent calls the contracting representative the same hour, and the two agree on the new time before the crew stands idle. For aircraft-related buildings, the sequence for an aircraft hangar roof adds debris and fire controls.
What goes into the closeout walk for a base building?
The base inspector or the building manager walks the finished roof with our crew leader, tie-in by tie-in. Every seam, curb, drain and edge is inspected, and the punch list for day one is painted at each spot. The turnover binder contains the roof plan, core locations, fastener patterns, product data and warranty forms.
Lakewood, beside the McChord Field portion of JBLM, has an economy that depends heavily on the base, and its off-base buildings can use the same file format. A civil engineer who manages many roofs benefits from a single format across all of them.
Commercial Roofing Questions
How does roofing on an Air Force base differ from a commercial job?
Access, documentation and specification. Badging, escorts, delivery appointments and flightline debris control change the schedule, and federal roofing is commonly specified to the Unified Facilities Criteria. The tear-off, dry-in and tie-in sequence itself does not change.
How do you control debris near the flightline?
We sweep with magnets, bag waste at the source, close each section before leaving and count fasteners. The crew leader walks the edges at the end of each shift, and anything that could blow loose is secured. The base's debris rules govern anything that touches the flightline.
Can you work while the building stays in use?
In most cases, yes. Small sections, protected rooms below and covered intakes make it possible. A room may need to be emptied for a day.
What is in the turnover binder?
The roof plan marked with repairs and tie-ins, core locations, fastener pull-test results, product data and warranty forms. It is handed over after a joint walk with the building manager or inspector, with open items painted on the roof.
When is the best time of year for base roof work?
Summer is the easy season, with Auburn's July at 0.9 inches of precipitation and November at 6.1. A roof that cannot wait is opened in smaller daily areas and every edge is sealed temporarily during the wet months.
Send the roof plan and the base schedule
Send the roof plan, the work order and the base access schedule. We will walk the sequence, staging and tie-ins with your contracting representative before a number goes on paper.
