The Mitchell H. Cohen U.S. Courthouse in Camden, N.J. is an 180,000-square-foot government facility. Constructed in 1994, the seven-story building contains 12 courtrooms and several attendant facilities, suites, and offices.

When the courthouse began to experience water leakage from the roof and walls, the facility management sought a long-term repair solution, but had concerns about the amount of demolition and damage that might be required to complete repairs.

The building’s owners turned to R-50 and its sister company Roofing Resources Inc. (RRI) to review the site and propose a solution.

The Assessment
The RRI team conducted a visual assessment of the roof, and discovered several areas of water intrusion. They then performed an infrared thermographic survey of the affected areas and discovered more extensive areas of damage. RRI recommended replacing the roof, but were met with some concern by the building’s owners regarding the level of demolition, expense and inconvenience that would be required.

Using conventional insulation to achieve an R-value of 50 to a roofing project would require the addition of almost 1 1/2 extra feet of height to the structure. By contrast, R-50 and RRI specified the use of a system of concrete pavers and a patented 1-inch thick Vacuum Insulated Panel (VIP) from R-50. In doing so, crews were able to address the damaged roof, and add the required energy efficiencies to the new construction with far fewer destructive building modifications.

The Result
By implementing the R-50-recommended system, the cost of construction was approximately $200,000 less than the original plan, and was able to realize substantial efficiencies in the building’s heating and cooling in the years that followed.

Project Details
OWNER: General Services Administration (GSA)
PROJECT NAME: Mitchell H. Cohen U.S. Courthouse
PROJECT TYPE: Infrared Survey Roofing & R-50 Value Insulation System Installation
BENEFITS: $200,000 Savings; Energy Efficiency