Arizona Schoolhouse Receives a New Roof Made to Look Just Like the Original From 1921

Case Study: The Roosevelt, an important Tucson landmark now owned by Pima Community College, has seen several renovations over the years, most recently involving a major reroof. All of the existing tile had to come off intact and be saved for reapplication. Then, a new tile underlayment had to be installed and a new surface applied on the low-slope portion of the roof so the old tile could be reattached.

Custom Roofing took on this project and was led by Bob Hill, who noted the building’s problem areas. “Some decking areas were rotten and had to be replaced completely. Other areas we were able to repair. There was a courtyard area that butted up against a brick wall that needed a lot of attention,” Hill said.

The total area of the reroof project was 240 squares, which included 210 squares of steep slope at a 4:12 pitch, and 30 squares of low slope.

“Replacement of the old tile underlayment was pretty straightforward. We were able to remove the old tile one section at a time. We stacked it on another portion of the roof while we removed the original underlayment, which was pretty well shot. We then applied the Bitec Mat-40 tile underlayment and reapplied the old tile,” stated Hill. Hill noted that not all of the tiles could be removed intact, and a few were inevitably broken during the process, but they were replaced with a similar tile from U.S. Tile.

The existing cold-applied system on the low-slope portion of the roof was torn off and replaced with a new Bitec 3-ply self-adhering system. The Bitec Imperflex system was placed over one layer of two-inch ISO and one layer of quarter-inch DensDeck. The products chosen and the diligent installation allowed for an easier process and reduced fumes for the operating building.