Colome Elementary School
A 20-year-old fully adhered EPDM roof with failing seams and a heavily oxidized surface. A-1 restored it in place with Gaco's single-ply silicone system, factory-inspected and warranted leak-free for up to 20 years.
- Crew
- 4
- Roof area
- 15,067 sf
- Duration
- 11 working days
- Warranty
- 20 yr
- 1Stage 1
Campus-wide roof assessment
The district asked A-1 to evaluate every roof across its K-12 campus and report back with a recommendation. Each facility had its own system, varying in age and condition. The elementary building's fully adhered EPDM came back the oldest and the worst.
- 2Stage 2
Gaco pre-approval
Before any work began, a Gaco representative inspected and approved the roof. Without that sign-off the district would not have qualified for the full factory warranty, so it happens first or not at all.
- 3Stage 3
Delaminated areas repaired
The membrane had pulled away from the deck at key stress points. Those areas were cut back and rebuilt with like EPDM materials, so the restoration went down over sound substrate rather than over the problem.
Stage 3
Repairing the saturated and delaminated areas - 4Stage 4
The membrane washed
Twenty years of oxidation came off with Gaco Wash, high-pressure washers, and a good deal of elbow grease. Silicone will not bond to a dirty roof, and this is the step that decides whether the rest of the system holds.
Stage 4
Washing twenty years of oxidation off the EPDM - 5Stage 5
Two-part epoxy primer
Gaco E5320 epoxy primer went down across the field to guarantee adhesion between the aged EPDM below and the silicone above it.
Stage 5
E5320 epoxy primer across the field - 6Stage 6
Seams and details reinforced
Every seam and detail was reinforced with polyester mesh embedded in Gaco S-20 silicone and SF-2000 fibered silicone. These are the places a twenty-year-old roof fails first, so they get built up before the field does.
Stage 6
Polyester mesh over every seam and detail - 7Stage 7
Forty mils of 100% silicone
The whole roof was resurfaced with roughly 40 mils of Gaco S20 100% silicone, closing the field into a single seamless, reflective membrane.
Stage 7
100% silicone topcoat at roughly 40 mils - 8Stage 8
Final factory inspection
A Gaco-qualified inspector walked the finished roof to confirm it met factory spec and was free of defects. That inspection is what issues the warranty — it is not paperwork, it is the product.
Stage 8
The finished roof
A roof with three or four years left in it, restored in place for a fraction of a re-roof — and inspected into a warranty of up to twenty years.