Frito-Lay Headquarters Avoids Tear off, Saves $1Million and Benefits from Western Colloid Energy-efficient Roof System

A custom specification by Western Colloid eliminated a roof tear off, minimized disruption and still provided the reflective, energy-efficient roof system the owner wanted.

The 32-year-old, 140,000 square foot roof on the Frito-Lay corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas was experiencing roof leaks from base flashing problems and splitting of the field membrane. The existing roof was concrete decking, 2 ½-inch rigid insulation, coal tar and gravel, and BUR and gravel roof assemblies.

The original plan was to completely remove the old roof assemblies and install an energy-efficient TPO roof system. Disruption to the building’s 3,800 employees and keeping dust and debris out of the lake that the building straddles presented challenges. An estimate of two million dollars to complete the job made this plan less than ideal.

Western Colloid presented a custom specification that would eliminate the removal of the existing roof assemblies and save Frito-Lay over one million dollars. The Western Colloid specification allowed the contractor to remove the loose gravel and apply a flood coat of asphalt emulsion with glass embedded into it. Then an additional pass of emulsion with a ply of tough polyester fabric embedded was used. Once cured, the system was surfaced with Western Colloid’s ElastaHyde acrylic coating reinforced with an additional ply of polyester fabric. Western Colloid SWS850 Seamless walkways were installed as an OSHA warning line ten feet from the edge along the 4,000 LF of the four-story building, which does not have a parapet wall.

The contractor did an excellent job on the installation that started in mid-January and was completed at the beginning of April. Weather conditions had to be continually monitored during the installation to allow for curing before any rain events. The Western Colloid system helped Frito-Lay achieve the warranted, reflective, energy-efficient roof system along with additional tax benefits that they wanted without the costly disruption of a tear off.

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