Unique Metal Roof...

Unique Metal Roofing Solutions Soar to New Heights at Squaw Valley Ski Resort

Type of Job: New construction -- metal roofing

Type of Structure: Upper and lower terminals for ski lift

Project Size:

30,000 square feet (upper terminal)

17,000 square feet (lower terminal)

Architect:

Dick Munday Architect, A.I.A.
Tahoe City, CA

Contractors:

Royal Roofing Co., Inc (upper terminal)
San Jose and Sacramento CA

Rua & Sons Mechanical (lower terminal)
Sacramento CA

Garland Products:

R-Mer Span structural standing seam roofing system
(upper terminal)

R-Mer LiteR insulated steel roofing system
R-Mer Loc structural/architectural standing seam roofing system
R-Mer Soffits
(lower terminal)

Garland Representative: Bill Kenny

Even at sea level, curving high-leg structural seam roofing panels down to a13-foot radius would be a challenge. When those panels are roofing a ski lift terminal high in the mountains of Olympic Valley, CA -- where wind gusts can reach 160 mph, sustained winds approach 100 mph, and snow loads can exceed 500 psf -- and you've got an Olympic-sized challenge.

The innovative architectural plans for Squaw Valley Ski Resort recently presented such a challenge to metal roofing manufacturers and their representatives in the Western states. The ambitious $28 million design, submitted by Dick Munday Architect, A.I.A., of Tahoe City, to Hans Burkhart and his associates at Squaw Valley Ski Corporation, encompassed the world's safest high-speed funitel, capable of transporting twenty passengers per trip; associated ski lift towers; and an upper and lower terminal building.

Munday's design required that the upper terminal, with its unique egg-like shape, be roofed in a manner aesthetically compatible with the more traditional lower terminal building. Both terminals would require roofing capable of withstanding the mountain's severe wind and weather conditions.

Specifically, the lower terminal required a low-slope (1/4 in/ft.) metal roof, color-matched to the jade green selected by Munday. The upper terminal required continuous 70-ft. panels, 18 in. wide, of .040-in. gauge aluminum, capable of accommodating two inches of thermal expansion/contraction, in a custom matte black finish.

When a fellow architect introduced Munday to Bill Kenny at a recent AIA-CSI trade show, Kenny, who is the Northwest regional manager of the Cleveland-based Garland Company, began acquainting Munday with the high-performance metal roofing solutions provided by Garland.

Kenny recalls, "As Dick explained it, he was having trouble finding aesthetically compatible metal solutions capable of both the low-slope [lower terminal] and high-slope, curved-panel [upper terminal] applications that his plans required.
Our recommendation was to completely seal the low-slope area with our R-Mer Lite insulated steel roofing system, using R-Mer Lock architectural/structural standing seam panels and R-Mer Soffits for finishing details. The low-slope R-Mer Lite system was designed for the severe weather conditions prevalent in the Northwest.

"For the upper terminal, we recommended our R-Mer Span standing seam system. As curving specialists, we were confident that our engineers could come up with a configuration to meet the stringent wind and weather conditions on the mountain."

With Munday's encouragement, and the support of Garland structural engineer Frank Resso, Kenny helped develop appropriate specifications for fulfilling the architectural requirements. Project engineer Jim Coffey, of Gary Davis Engineers, helped to refine basic wind speed and snow load requirements, adjusting basic velocity pressures for the density of air at 8,000-ft. elevations.

Garland's Partnership PledgeSM commitment, which provided a 30-year warranty for the roofing solutions, as installed and maintained under Garland supervision, was welcomed by general contractor, Hans Burkhart. Burkhart, as the "hands-on" general manager of the entire project, was intensely involved at every stage of development and implementation.

The lower funitel terminal project began in April of 1998. The contract was awarded to Rua & Sons Mechanical of Sacramento, California, certified installers of both Garland low-slope and standing seam systems. Kenny reports that the project was completed in November with "superb workmanship."

The upper terminal project contract was awarded to Royal Roofing Company, Inc., with offices in San Jose and Sacramento. To avoid transportation difficulties, all panels were curved on site to the same specifications employed in the Garland factory

According to Kenny, Royal superintendent Nick Hough and his crew had to install the roof in the tough conditions it was designed to withstand. Kenny jokes, "It was a kind of premature test for the system."

With a late start in September, 1998 -- and an unmovable opening date of December 15th -- Royal performed extremely "difficult and tedious work in some really rough weather." Kenny continues, "We were transporting equipment up that mountain in snow conditions, and putting the roof down in gusts as high as 150 miles per hour. Nick and his crew did a phenomenal job on a very difficult and demanding project.."

The resort was opened on time, and in budget, with some finishing details scheduled for completion in spring, 1999.