The cosmetic manufacturing facility was first constructed in 1968, and underwent various roofing repairs since. The 210,000-square-foot building received a total re-roof upgrade; areas of the deck settling and deflection that were previously prone to water collection were corrected with the addition of SPF roof sloping materials prior to installation of a 2-ply polyester reinforced Western Colloid Roofing System with a seamless white UV reflective elastomeric ‘Cool Roof’ surfacing.

The manufacturing portion of the building posed a unique challenge. “One major concern was that we could not have a speck of dust or water fall into the manufacturing segment of the building during the reroofing process,” said Ernest Orchard, owner of Orchard Roofing & Waterproofing Consultants. “This meant we couldn’t be caught with the roof open, especially during inclement weather.”

Orchard Roofing & Waterproofing Consultants was hired by American International Industries to provide guidance and value engineering for the building owners during the whole process. Orchard worked with Rick Cunningham, President of Highland Commercial Roofing, to schedule and plan this major project without affecting the manufacturing segment, or the operations in the office or warehouse of the facility during construction.

Replacement of almost 300 smoke vent skylights for code compliance, safety and increased daylighting added to the unique scheduling requirements. “SKYCO Skylights’ project management team was very helpful during the whole process,” said Cunningham when asked about the special scheduling needs.

The UL Listed Smoke Vents were manufactured in Costa Mesa, Calif. by SKYCO Skylights, a leader in custom and industrial skylights, fall protection and rooftop accessories. Each smoke vent, along with all of SKYCO Skylights’ industrial skylights, comes with a super strong polycarbonate dome tested to an 800 pounds, impact load. Polycarbonate material is known best for its strength and durability against discoloring.

For ample air circulation, each UL Smoke Vent came with an optional VORTEX louvered base. SKYCO Skylights redesigned the louver to eliminate leaking and penetration of unwanted debris.

“We manufacture our UL Listed Smoke Vents to be high performance in both daylighting and fire protection,” said Ryan Marshall, CEO of SKYCO Skylights. “Another feature we are proud of about our smoke vent is they are significantly lighter than any other on the market. This means when you are moving them around the roof, the workers spend less energy and lowers risks of injury and fatigue. Most new customers come back to us extremely excited about the ease of installation.”

Building a lighter unit doesn’t mean a sacrifice of quality. SKYCO Skylights smoke vents are UL Listed life saving devices, OSHA compliant and meet the highest performance levels for resistance to air infiltration and water penetration.  

Upon completion of this project, building owners now have a high performance roof, designed to save tenants significantly in lighting and heating costs. The new roof has a projected roof service life of over 20 years.