HISTORY
The Atlanta Farmers Market has become one of the premier farmers markets in the South after many years of quality produce, good service, and friendly farmers. It is one of the largest farmers markets in the world, at 150 acres. It is not just a farmers market though; it also includes a garden center, wholesale and retail activities, and serves as a distribution and marketing center for fresh produce in the Southeast.
PROBLEM
The Market’s 62,000 square foot roof was a graveled, foam roof installed in 1992. During the 22 year life of the foam roof, no maintenance work was ever completed. Although foam roofs can last 40 or more years, annual checks and minor maintenance are required to maintain a leak free roof. The result of this neglect was a roof with many leaks that created an unsafe work environment and damaged products. The Market needed a new roof, but this was difficult to coordinate with its operating schedule: open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This meant that whatever roofing solution was chosen had to be non-invasive and installed quickly. Because the roof had been ignored for so long, there was extensive damage to the roofing surface that was not repaired. Not only the foam, but many of the metal features of the roof were in poor condition. Once the old gravel and foam were removed from the roof, all metal features, such as the expansion joint pictured above, were replaced with new metal. The new foam was then installed around the metal features, which provided a completely new roof surface.
SOLUTION
The local contractor that won the bid, Coatings Application & Waterproofing (CAW), chose the Progressive Materials SPF roofing system to replace the old foam system. Some of the main reasons the Progressive Materials SPF roofing system was chosen were:
SCOPE OF WORK
- Scarified 2/3’s of roof surface to remove damaged foam.
- Located existing wet areas via infrared scan.
- Removed and replaced all wet insulation.
- Applied SPF system to the entire roofing system.
- Coated entire roofing system with Progressive Materials Low-Solids Silicone Coating.
BENEFITS
The new SPF roofing system provides a longer lasting roof system versus the older foam and gravel system. The new sustainable roof is leak free and completely renewable in 10-12 years by simply applying a new silicone coating. The new system also provided the following benefits to the Market:
- Market suffered no downtime during construction.
- Substantial installation, maintenance, and energy savings.
- Decreased environmental impact of the facility
- Roof is now covered under a full-system, leak-free warranty.
- LEED credits qualification.
