When most people think of Shriners, they think of those tall, tasseled hats and guys riding comically small vehicles in parades. But despite these whimsical traditions, the work they do as Shriner's International, a 501c organization, is serious business.

Among its services is the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of 22 healthcare facilities located throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Children under the age of 18 can be admitted to these hospitals if, in the opinion of doctors, the child can be treated. The hospitals specialize in orthopedic care, burn treatment, cleft lip and palate care and spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

In late 2019, a Shriner’s Kerack in Reno, Nev., required a new roofing system. The Kerack serves as a hub for coordinating transportation services to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals in Sacramento, Calif. and Portland, Ore. Polyglass U.S.A. Inc. teamed up with D&D Roofing, a roofing contractor in Nevada, to provide the new roofing system.

For the Kerack Project, the Polyglass Special Projects team concluded that the facility needed far more than the project budget could support and decided it was critical to provide assistance for the complicated reroofing project. Polyglass offered to work with D&D Roofing on an entirely new roof design that would meet the Kerack’s needs. D&D Roofing came up with a new roof design that included components to strengthen the building's diaphragm. The contractor chose a multi-ply modified bitumen roof system with exceptional performance and high puncture resistance, unlike the single-ply membrane previously under consideration.

After installing the insulation board, a layer of Polyglass’ SBS self-adhesive (SA) base membrane was installed, along with Elastoflex® SA Base, a high-performance polyester reinforcement. To add superior weathering and puncture resistance, the D&D Roofing crew installed an SBS granulated cap sheet with a high-performance reinforced polyester mat (Elastoflex® S6 G) by torching means, effectively fusing all layers of the assembly tightly as a monolithic layer resulting in 270 mils of membrane. The blended color added UV resistance and a visually attractive look to the completed roofing.

With Polyglass providing all the modified bitumen and related membrane accessories at no cost the Shriner’s for this project, the result was a much heavier-duty roofing system. It also allowed them to reroof the entire facility and make needed deck enhancements to the building.

As a result of this important project, the local Shriner’s facility can continue to provide critically needed meeting and transportation services for children and their families, giving them opportunities for no-cost medical care, and offer local residents in the Reno/Sparks area with a low-cost gathering place, all without the worry of a troublesome leaking roof.

For more information about this project please visit polyglass.us/project/shriners-kerack.