Duro-Last® 2018 Metal Roofing Award Goes to Research Center

The aging building was experiencing nearly 100 leaks among the roof and walls each time it rained. 

The National Warmwater Aquaculture Center (NWAC), an extension of Mississippi State University, functions to identify and improve the short- and long-term problems facing the aquaculture industry.

The aged building – which houses a variety of personnel studying aquatic nutrition, water quality, genetics, health, diagnostics and more – featured sloped roofing sections with standing seam metal panels and brick masonry for the exterior walls. As water continued to infiltrate the facility through both the roof and parapets, the maintenance team knew they had to address the problems before it affected the research being done within.

After securing the project through a public bidding process, Independent Roofing Systems in Jackson, Mississippi quickly developed a working plan to overhaul the roof and parapet walls to provide the protection that the facility needed. Working with the team at EXCEPTIONAL Metals, they were able to select a complementing standing seam roofing system and wall panels to replace the brick masonry along the top perimeter. 

“The project started with addressing the roofing system,” explained Mitch Reifers, project manager and estimator for Independent Roofing Systems. “We wanted to get that watertight and secure before anything else.” Independent Roofing Systems removed the existing standing seam panels and installed over 9,000 square feet of EXCEPTIONAL Metals BattenLok panels before moving on to the parapet walls.

“We removed the brick from the exterior of the parapet and installed steel studs to frame the structure for the metal panels,” said Mitch. “However, we actually ended up having to rebuild the walls from the interior as well because we quickly discovered that they didn’t have adequate support.”

The Independent Roofing team worked systematically from one end of the building to the other, demolishing approximately 200 feet of parapet wall per day before framing and waterproofing them for the night. Once they had completed their necessary prep work, they installed approximately 6,000 square feet of EXCEPTIONAL Metals Designer Series panels to provide a finished look and prevent future water infiltration.

“Overall this project went very well,” said Mitch. “The most complicated portion of the roofing system was installing the new soffit panels along the pitched standing seam sections. We had to build out two feet from the perimeter to accommodate the soffit, but that went pretty quickly. The wall panels were the most time consuming because we had to do a lot of pre-installation work to ensure that the parapets were going to maintain their structural integrity.”

Working with an average crew of 15, Independent Roofing Systems was able to complete the project in six months. “Despite a two week stretch of rain during July that pretty much shut us down, we were able to complete the project within the timeline we had been given,” said Mitch. “On top of that, the staff and maintenance crew are extremely happy with the outcome. They had been dealing with close to 100 different leaks between the roof and walls, and now water infiltration is no longer a concern. It’s been a big relief for them.”

Contractor: Independent Roofing Systems

Project: National Warmwater Aquaculture Center (NWAC) at Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center

Location: Stoneville, MS

Square Feet: 9,100 standing seam panels / 6,000 wall panels

Products: EXCEPTIONAL® Metals BattenLok® standing seam panels, Designer™ Series wall panels

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