Roofing Program Completes Successful Year at Los Alamos

Complex-wide effort replaces nearly 150,000 square feet of roofing at Los Alamos in 2006

In 2003, the Department of Energy determined that millions of square feet of roofing was in dire need of replacement or repair, including some roofs at the Laboratory. So the Roof Asset Management Program was started to address the problem through a single management contract administered by the Kansas City Plant with oversight by Building Technology Associates, Inc.

This past year at the Laboratory the program resulted in contractors replacing 148,000 square feet of roofing and performing repairs on an additional 150 roof areas. The Roof Asset Management Program, and Building Technology Associates, Inc. did the work.

"The replacement of old roofing has obvious benefits to the Laboratory," said Jayson Blanchard, of Facility and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program planning. "But it's the repair work that really pays off in extending the life cycle of so many of our buildings - resulting in a significant long-term cost savings over replacement."

Actual repair and replacement work began in 2005 with the successful replacement of 66,000 square feet of roofing and repairs completed on more than 100 other buildings.

The program started at Los Alamos in 2004 with an initial survey of the Laboratory's roofing situation that evolved into a repair/replacement schedule. The survey looked at roof condition, age, material types and life cycle to determine what work needed to be done and when.

According to Blanchard, the Laboratory anticipates that this will be another good year in the roof replacement/repair arena. Working closely with the Los Alamos Site Office, DOE headquarters, the Kansas City Plant, and Building Technology Associates, Inc., infrastructure managers at the Laboratory hope to increase funding in the 2007 fiscal year, and complete additional roofing projects on buildings that are in dire need of repairs or replacement.

"We really appreciate all the support we've gotten over the years from Headquarters. The overall successes of this program is due to their efforts along with Jayson and the Los Alamos project team, Kansas City Plant management personnel, the Building Technology Associates Inc. management team, and the contractors hired to perform the work," said Larry Goen of Weapons Infrastructure.

"The benefits realized from the program are many. Getting new roofs on facilities that need them supports the Lab's overall mission by providing employees with better working conditions and improved safety," said Goen. "And there are real cost efficiencies that result from having access to large nationwide roofing contractors."