Ridgid Construction Case Studies: Downtown OKC Condominiums

After their condominium complex was severely damaged by hail, there were two main obstacles facing this Condo Association. The first was getting their insurance claim approved and getting a fair settlement to restore the buildings. The second was finding a contractor willing to undertake such a daunting project.

Upon first meeting with the Condo Association members, they said they had contacted several contractors to get bids in the past, but none of them ever returned. They understood why... it was a bit of a logistics nightmare. Built in downtown OKC in 1984, the complex consists of 48 units, a pool house and a swimming pool in the main courtyard, completely surrounded by 10' concrete walls. The buildings range from three to four stories high with garages below. Back in the day, the architects received accolades for designing and building such a contemporary and unique structure, but it would seem there was little consideration given in the design for future exterior maintenance and repair. Aside from being completely enclosed by a 10' concrete wall with no opening for access besides the 4' wide gates, there was very little space between structures inside. The main roofs are standing seam metal roofs with a 7:12 pitch. There are nooks and crannies everywhere with hidden roofs over balconies on every level, flat roofs, downspouts wound around corners, over and under balconies eventually running into a below ground drainage system, firewalls extend up to 20' above the roof-lines. There are catwalks, balconies, and open stairwells everywhere. In other words, just getting to the work to be done was a challenge. 

Always up for a challenge, Justin (Ridgid's owner) decided to take it on. He spent a couple months analyzing, measuring, preparing estimates, meeting with the Association to discuss options and concerns, and drafting the final contract. He worked diligently with their insurance adjuster and was finally able to get the claim approved and arrive at a fair and complete claim settlement that covered all of the damage, including code upgrades. Finally, with all details worked out, Ridgid began the first phase of the restoration process. 

The first order of business was fall safety! Pitched metal roofs are nearly impossible to maneuver, even with fall safety gear. Custom designed steel brackets were fabricated to apply to the high walls in order to accommodate metal fall safety lines for the painting and roofing crews to tie their harnesses off to. An OSHA approved safety plan was put in place to ensure a safe project. Temporary fencing, dumpsters, portable toilets, and equipment were set up on vacant lots we rented across the street from the complex. Occupants of the condominiums were notified that work was to begin and given an estimated schedule of projected progress.

Prior to tackling the metal roofing  the concrete block walls, which were saturated with moisture due to old, peeling coatings, had to be stripped and sealed to prevent future moisture problems. During this phase of the restoration, we were contracted to do the block wall coatings on everything above the roof-lines to prevent roof leaks. They were pressure washed and scraped (and scraped and scraped) to remove the old, deteriorated coatings and expose the block enough to apply Benjamin Moore Masonry Sealer, Block Filler and the Elastomeric Coatings. This was done under the watchful eye of the Benjamin Moore rep to ensure a warrantable outcome. Once the exterior coatings were complete, the roofing process began.

The 10' concrete walls surrounding the entire complex prevented access for normal delivery of the new standing seam metal roofing material... and since all the main roofs were so pitched, they did not provide a surface to store the new roofing material once delivered.  The solution?  The metal roofing was lifted into the complex by crane, requiring special permits and road closures. The project was done one building at a time. Each building had a courtyard in the center, so three stories of scaffolding were set up in the courtyard of each building, providing a surface to place the material so the roofing crews had access to it. The crates were carefully numbered to facilitate situating the panels in the order they were to be installed. The old metal was torn off and manually lowered to ground level to be moved to dumpsters set up outside "the wall" for recycling.  Rotted decking and fascia was removed and replaced as necessary. An upgraded underlayment of high temp ice and water shield was applied to all surfaces to provide added protection. Fascia, soffits, and gutters were installed (due to the placement of the original gutter system, they did not effectively collect water, so they were redesigned by incorporating them into the top of the fascia panels - problem solved).  24 gauge standing seam metal with Kynar/fluoropolymer finish was applied. Hundreds of feet of reglets were cut into the block to apply counterflashing to ensure no water penetration where the roofing met the walls. Modified bitumin flat roofs that were deteriorated both due to age and years of standing water since they were not pitched for runoff. They were torn out, built up for runoff and replaced with TPO roofing systems with new gutters for drainage.  8" downspouts were custom fabricated and installed, careful to stay in the same formation as the original downspouts since they ran into an underground drainage system. Wall caps were fabricated and installed at the top of the massive firewalls. Skylights were replaced. Deteriorated window jambs were replaced and resided, wood siding on areas above the roof-lines was replaced with James Hardie cement siding and painted. Finally snow guards and finishing touches were completed. Kudos to our crews who were not phased by the working conditions or plagued by a fear of heights. They literally rose to the occasion - working off of scaffolding, walk planks, ladder jacks, extension ladders, safety lines, balconies... 

Many challenges presented themselves during the course of this project, but each one presented a unique opportunity to problem solve.  It was very rewarding and we appreciate the opportunity. It gives a tremendous sense of satisfaction knowing how happy the residents are with their dry buildings and the major facelift we were able to help them achieve.