Hycroft
Challenge
The University Womens club had commissioned an engineering firm to perform a roof assessment which identified a number of areas needing attention. The report was very heavy in technical jargon and provided the board ample information to decipher about what was wrong with the roof, but few tangible solutions.
The main portion of the roof is finished with delicate clay tiles that can last 50-100 years when maintained correctly. In a number of locations, some of the tiles were broken, leaving the building reliant on the sensitive roofing underlayment for protection. Travel on the clay tiles is perilous, as one wrong step can result in a broken tile and a meticulous repair process with tiles that are expensive and difficult to source.
We were originally brought to the site to solve an unresolved roof leak at a chimney, and handed the 83 page report to peruse and offer more suggestions on the spectrum of outstanding roofing items.
Expectations from the board were not high at the outset, as they had previously handed the report to a number of roofing companies, but none were able to the provide clear, organized, and concrete solutions required for the Board to vote confidently on moving forward.
Approach
We reviewed the water ingress description and the Engineering report in detail before attending the site, and spent time onsite assessing each item individually. We assigned priority ratings to each item and broke them out with clear, understandable explanations and solutions for each.
Our repair leadership team internally reviewed the project requirements, such as access around their events schedule, fall protection and site safety, and the logistic requirements of worker travel over the delicate clay tiles.
For the leaks; we determined how best and most efficiently to integrate traditional old-world craftsmanship styles and materials with new technologies such as 2-component reinforced PMMA resin “Parapro” by Siplast for bullet-proof permanent and efficient Solutions.
We also reviewed Proactive Maintenance items; such as trimming tree branches overhanging and wearing the surface of the roof, that could be executed efficiently during our time onsite alongside the items identified as more “urgent” or “critical”.
Impact and results
We assigned some of our most skilled, careful and diligent staff to execute the scope with attention and care. The team was inspired and proud to be trusted with the responsibility of protecting this iconic piece of Vancouver’s Heritage. In the office, the admin team enjoyed reviewing the file photos of not just the roof, but also the “photo album” uploaded to our cloud-based management software when the conscientious roof tech team was taken on sightseeing tours through the building by the hospitable Hycroft operations staff.
The execution was carefully planned, and thoroughly executed- No leaks currently persist and the solutions we provided will remain permanent for many Wedding Seasons and Book Club meetings to come.
As always, we provided a completion report with photos and captions to describe the actions steps we had taken, and identified additional items discovered during execution for the board to plan for in the future. Robinson Roofing will return again as part of a phased sequencing plan developed around a quantified budget to continue protecting and strengthening the complex and sensitive roof systems over the coming years.
Outcome
We presented our recommendations in a clear format, providing as much attention to detail in the proposal process as we did in the execution. High priority and urgent items were highlighted and broken out into detailed and specific, but clear and digestible language, which resulted in the board approving our proposal with confidence.
While moving forward, the UVWC informed us that much of our scope would have to be executed in tandem with their peak season for Weddings which is the primary source of income for the club. The non-profit organization is reliant on these funds to meet the financial obligations of maintaining the property and cancelling the events would be a non-negotiable.
Thanks to our all-star Project Management and Coordination team, we handled these requirements in stride because we are quite familiar and comfortable with sensitive and coordination-heavy access procedures. Working with as many Property Managers and Strata as we do, it’s essential to be able to adjust on the fly and still have the experience look and feel smooth to occupants and building users. We are pleased to announced that during the two month scope over late summer/early fall – “No weddings were harmed in the making of this maintenance”