For years, Cal State Fullerton’s performing arts students have conducted all of their musicals, plays, concerts, and classes in the school’s outdated and traditional, box-shaped theater.  However, amidst a campus-wide construction initiative brought on by the school’s rapid population growth, university officials recently decided to build a new performing arts center that would better service their top-notch program.  Construction began in March 2003 and finished in January 2006, with the school officially opening the building to its students this fall.

            Loaded with the latest technologies and world-class amenities, the new performing arts center features an 800-seat concert hall, a 250-seat thrust-stage theater, a 150-seat black-box theater and a host of support classrooms and studios.  The building’s exterior is a showcase of architectural wonder, the most obvious feature being an astonishing multi-pitched metal roof.  Utilizing varying slopes that range from 3:12 to 9:12, the roof on the new fine arts building truly stands out on the campus of this southern California University.

            The distinctive roof consists of standing-seam zinc sheets, a natural material that architect Bill Murray specified because of its long service life and architectural beauty.  “Zinc roofs have been used in Europe forever,” said Murray, principal at Los Angeles-based Pfeiffer Partners, an architectural firm with a reputation for superior theater designs.  “They have been known to last for more than one hundred years and they offer a richness that you just do not get with traditional metal roofs.”

            Similar to other metal roofs, however, zinc becomes extremely hot when it is exposed to excessive sunlight.  In order to maintain the integrity of the roof and ensure a long service life, a special waterproofing underlayment had to be installed under the zinc that could withstand the extreme temperatures from the California sunshine.

            Murray Gary McKee, a representative from the zinc roofing manufacturer, Rheinzink, approved a Carlisle Coatings & Waterproofing (CCW) Water and Ice Protection (WIP) roofing underlayment to be installed under the metal roof sheets.  “We looked at a number of underlayments and CCW’s WIP 300HT was compatible with the Rheinzink material,” said Murray.

            WIP 300HT is a high tensile strength, rubberized asphalt underlayment specifically designed to withstand temperatures up to 240°F.  The rubberized asphalt is laminated to an impermeable polyethylene film layer, making WIP 300HT a superior waterproofing underlayment that provides dual-barrier moisture protection.  Unlike other underlayments, CCW’s WIP 300HT will not melt or become brittle, even under the most extreme weather conditions.

            “CCW’s WIP 300HT offers permanent roof protection and low life cycle costs,” said Tim Eorgan, technical services manager with CCW.  “This underlayment will not crack, dry out, or rot, resulting in long term waterproofing performance that will continue for the life of the roof.”

            After the bulk of the performing arts center was constructed, R&J Sheet Metal, Inc., a local contractor from Huntington Beach, Calif., was subcontracted to install the unique roof system.  Having used CCW waterproofing underlayments for more than eight years, R&J is quite familiar with WIP 300HT.

            “We’ve used a lot of other underlayments in the past, but WIP 300HT and the rest of CCW’s underlayment product line are our favorites,” said Mike Stuver of R&J Sheet Metal.  “CCW waterproofing underlayments are easy to install and they are competitively priced.”

            Before R&J installed the CCW WIP 300HT and zinc roofing they had to mount rigid polystyrene insulation on top of eight-inch lightweight concrete that covers the building’s steel deck.  Coupled with the lightweight concrete, the insulation helps provide superior acoustical performance inside the building by drowning out any exterior noise.

            Before the Rheinzink sheets could be installed, R&J had to top the CCW WIP 300HT membranes with a quarter-inch nylon woven mesh.  The mesh is responsible for holding the zinc sheeting away from the WIP 300HT, creating a dead air gap between the two materials.  According to Stuver, zinc roofs need to have a back coating or incorporate the nylon mesh in order for the product to provide its best performance.  For this job, both were used to extend the life of the roof.

            The mesh was installed concurrently with the zinc roofing material using two-piece floating clips that allow the roof to expand and contract.  The clips sit a quarter-inch higher than the height of the panel and were installed onto the Z purlins with two screws.

            CCW WIP 300HT membranes feature a self-sealing quality, allowing them to seal around the screws that punctured them when the woven mesh and clips were installed.  All CCW underlayments come standard with this self sealing-feature, ensuring a waterproof roof.

            The clips were installed along the zinc panel seams and were concealed by the adjacent standing seam.  To create a more aesthetically pleasing rooftop the plans called for altering the size of the zinc sheets at the roof edges to stagger the seams.  “The varying seams scaled down the size of the large roofs,” said Murray.  “They took a large space and made it appear smaller.”

            According to Cal State Fullerton’s Dean of the College of the Arts, Jerry Samuelson, the school couldn’t be happier with the building or its roof.  “The building is absolutely stunning and the roof is its signature element,” Samuelson said.  •••

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