LRW Consultants Inc., Dallas, has maintained, analyzed and supervised the roofing projects for Pier 1 since 1995. Over the last 10 years, reroofing projects on distribution centers have averaged over $1,000,000 a piece. Gary Hudspeth, president of LRW, is the person charged with providing Pier 1 the highest possible return on its roofing investment.
The 450,000-square-foot distribution center in Mansfield, Texas, was built in 1986. Its roof consisted of fully adhered EPDM over polyisocyanurate foam insulation board. A white acrylic coating was then applied to the membrane. Hudspeth inspected the roof in 2002 and found that some seams had disbonded, a few sections of the membrane required replacement, and ponded water had damaged the coating along the roof's perimeter. In addition, over the 16-year life of the roof, the thinner areas of coating had eroded and in some areas had flaked away. Nonetheless, the majority of the roof was in relatively good condition.