Retail Source

Written by Tom Berg, AIA

E-mail: bergtdm@aol.com

Let's say you've just moved into your new store. The displays are all in place, your merchandise has arrived, and the light and sound systems work perfectly. You have been running ads on TV and radio and are expecting a good crowd for your grand opening.

The night before the big day, a thunderstorm dumps one and a half inches of rain on your new store, but you don't worry. This is a brand new store, not like the old one you just left behind. There won't be any leaks here! Right?

The next morning you arrive at the store early to make a few last minute preparations when you discover a puddle on the floor just inside the front door. Then you see the real damage. Your feature display is ruined by water leaking into the store.

How could this have happened? This is a brand new store!

The roofing was installed over three months ago and has performed perfectly through the normal spring rains. You wonder why it should start to leak on the very day of your grand opening. You find your cell phone and dial the contractor's number. While you wait for him to answer the phone you think back to last Thursday. Your new sign had just arrived and the installer was locating the supports on the roof. There was an argument between the installer and the contractor, but that was none of your business, so you thought nothing of it. The sign crew finished the install that afternoon. As you left the store that night you turned on the sign, just to try it out. Perfect!

Still waiting for the contractor to answer the phone, you think back to last Thursday and the argument you overheard, but put aside. The contractor was saying something like; "You can't do that without the roofer being here!" Now you begin to wonder just what the sign installer was doing.

"Hello, VanGuisman Construction, this is Bill."

So you explain about the leak and Bill says he will be right over, and he's bringing the roofer with him. Later, when they arrive, you join them on the roof to see what's wrong.

Last Thursday the sign installer was looking for a place to bring up power to the sign. The architect had carefully detailed the sign support and flashing details, and all that was properly installed three months ago with the rest of the roof. But they forgot to detail the power line penetration through the roof. So the sign installer drilled a hole in the roof to rough-in power. They inserted a one and a half inch round pipe in the hole and did a quick patch of the roofing around it. They brought their power cable up through the pipe and into the power box at the base of the sign. At the top of the pipe they applied some roofing mastic to close the hole. This was the mistake that caused all the trouble. They should have installed a weather head on the pipe to make a proper leak proof closure. As it rained, water followed the cable down to the imperfect seal at the top of the pipe, and into your store.

This story may seem a little far out, but simple mistakes like the one illustrated here can cost you plenty. Here, the architect should have designed, or at least specified a weather head for the top of the pipe. The contractor should have had the roofer come back and flash the pipe properly, and you should have advised the contractor that your sign installer was coming so the contractor could have coordinated the work of the roofer.

As you mop up the last of the water, you should be thinking about what to do next. Problems like this often occur when people work out of trade, like the sign installers doing the roofing. This is your chance to have the work done right. It's time to call your architect; after all, they owe you a design that works. They need to work with your contractor, the roofer, and your sign installer to design a roof penetration that will last as long as the rest of the roof. Given a complete design, the contractor can see that the job is correctly executed.