Portland Pier Stays Dry With This PVC Membrane

By IB Roof Systems.

IB Roof Systems’ PVC membrane was a gamechanger in this major pier renovation project.

Since 1982, the McCormik Pier has been a landmark of Portland, Oregon, as well as a home to those staying in the various condos there. The pier sits right on the beautiful Willamette River and offers many amenities to residents staying in the condos. Back in the early 2000s, over 12 million dollars' worth of renovations were made there, including upgraded condos, a pool, fire pit and even a long walking path.

However, when you build homes on a river pier, you not only need to waterproof the roofs of the condominiums, but you need to waterproof the pier floor itself. You will soon see why this is one for the record books when it comes to unusual roofing.

Something drastic needed to be done, and it needed to be done quickly. The existing asphalt material had failed, and the amount of rot that was continuing at the floor level placed the entire community and all the investment at risk. JBC Roofing and Waterproofing were called to look at the issues and develop a solution. Six months of conversations with the architect, general contractor and the IB Roof Systems technical team ensued to discuss the nuances of taking on this behemoth project.

Many challenging elements were presented. Some areas that needed to be torn-off repaired and waterproofed only had a four-foot crawl space, creating hard-working areas with a lot of the wood too rotten to save. In addition, removal of large decking areas needed to have other walking surfaces installed above the waterproofing areas. Tear-off and replacing the decking made the crawl space working environment especially interesting.

JBC accepted the challenge utilizing IB Roof Systems 80 mil gray PVC membrane.

Special precautions needed to be employed to ensure the roofing material was kept free from the excess abrasion caused from a lot of foot traffic over the years. This was done by placing a sacrificial sheet of IB membrane under each support, then a dense poly-fiber separator was installed on top. Other exciting areas included a concrete paver walking area raised 18” off the pier floor.

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Original article source: IB Roof Systems