Flatrock Manor owner and chief executive officer Nicholas Burnett
saw tremendous potential in the shuttered building. It was the right size. It
was designed for providing health care, serving first as a hospital and later
as a hospice. It was situated on 10 acres of scenic property complete with a
nature trail, a gazebo and a pond that is home to swans, geese, ducks and
painted turtles. Its exterior included beautiful Mid-century modern details.
Burnett had long been seeking an opportunity in Goodrich,
Michigan, to open a new location for Flatrock Manor, a group of foster care
centers in Mid-Michigan for adults with special developmental and behavioral
needs. The empty building would fit the bill. But first, it would need some TLC
and a more homelike atmosphere.
Tri-County Roofing of Flushing, Michigan, and Sedgewick + Ferweda
Architects of Flint, Michigan, helped make that happen. A
new TPO roofing system was installed to fix long-standing leaks and provide
durable, low-maintenance performance. The additions of a mansard roof and
gabled accents gave the building’s exterior a more residential aesthetic while
retaining its distinctive architectural details.
The new facility opened in December 2019 and is now home to 30
residents.
Preserving the Look
The building is a fixture in Goodrich, a 1,900-resident suburb of
Flint. Built in the early 1960s, the facility was originally a 53-bed,
full-service hospital. In 1997 it became a hospice. That facility closed in
2013 and the building remained vacant until Flatrock Manor purchased it.
The exterior of the original 18,000-square-foot building embraced
the Mid-century modern style popular in the era. Subsequent additions that
brought the facility to 23,000 square feet followed suit for a cohesive look.
The existing roofing system was quintessential Mid-century modern.
The built-up roof was surrounded by a slim, 1-foot-high parapet wall with an
aluminum cap. A gabled front canopy shielded patients and visitors from the
elements while arriving at or leaving the hospital.
While the exterior’s design perfectly suited a hospital, it was
too institutional for a facility that would be its residents’ long-term home.
Happily, the task of adapting the building for its new purpose
fell to Sedgewick + Ferweda Architects, the same firm that designed the
original hospital nearly 60 years earlier. The team embraced the challenge of
striking the right balance between preserving architecturally significant
features and meeting regulatory guidelines governing the design of long-term
care communities.
“Initially we tried to glorify the Mid-century style of the
building,” says Michael Murphy, project manager with Sedgewick + Ferweda
Architects. “We completed several elevation studies to incorporate some modern
ways of dealing with the parapet. Ultimately, we had to go back to the drawing
board to achieve a more residential look.”
The gabled roof above the canopy at the main entrance was the
starting point from which other design elements took their cue. A mansard roof
was incorporated around the building. To balance the main entrance, a gabled
canopy was added at a second entryway on the building’s front. Twenty accent
gables were spaced out along the building’s entire exterior and gables were
added above rear and side entrances.
“We played with the value of scale when incorporating the mansard
roof with the horizontal façade of the building,” Murphy says. “We made it more
substantial, so it doesn’t look like a short little mansard roof that has been
pushed onto the building.”
Owens Corning TrueDefinition
Duration Designer shingles in Merlot were chosen for the mansard roof and
gables, bringing added warmth to the façade. They were complemented by fascia
and soffits from Quality Aluminum Products in
Cranberry. Cultured stone in a sandy shade was added on the gable walls and
around the windows to accent the original terra cotta-toned brick walls.
A Roof to Perform for the Long
Haul
The building’s existing roofing system — ballasted EPDM on top of
a built-up roof with fiberglass insulation — was leaking and the EPDM membrane
was “in horrible shape,” according to Tim McKnight, president of Tri-County
Roofing. “We found nothing but saturated insulation,” he adds. “The only reason
that more water hadn’t gotten into the building’s interior was because the
asphalt on the BUR roofing system kept it out.”
Both the EPDM and BUR systems would need to be torn off.
The steel 22-gauge B deck remained in good condition and original
plans called for it to be retained, but requirements for the new HVAC system
and ductwork meant that it, too, needed to be removed and replaced. Mother
Nature chose to not make the process easy. Facing a month of frequent rain, the
Tri-County Roofing crew worked as quickly as possible and did their best to
keep the building’s interior dry; for example, tearing off the existing roof
bit by bit around the edges to make space for the carpenters to frame in the
new mansard roof before beginning work on the rest of the roof.
In selecting the new roofing system, longevity and hassle-free
performance were the top considerations.
“The client wanted something that would last 20 years with no
issues,” McKnight says, noting that such performance would require withstanding
the broad spectrum of Mid-Michigan’s weather, which ranges from warm, sunny
summers to cold, snowy winters.
The client’s original preference was to install a new EPDM system,
but McKnight recommended a mechanically fastened TPO system for its durability,
easy maintenance and cost effectiveness. A system featuring a white, 60-mil
membrane from Mule-Hide Products Co. was
specified.
Ensuring Positive Drainage
A new 22-gauge steel B deck was installed. It was dead level to
accommodate the building’s plumbing system, which made getting the insulation
right essential. Tapered expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation is designed
specifically for such applications, making it the ideal choice for this
project.
The building’s existing drainage system — in which water flows
from the roof to storm drains in the basement — did not change in the
renovations. The Tapered Solutions team
at ABC Supply Co. worked
from drawings to design a take-off that would provide positive drainage. Even
the best drawings are not 100 percent reflective of the reality on the roof,
however, so the Tri-County Roofing installation crew inevitably encountered
instances where the insulation was slightly off-center from the sump or the
real-life walls were not quite where they were shown on the plans. In those
cases, the crew fabricated pieces of EPS or polyiso insulation on the jobsite
to achieve the proper drainage.
Completing the Installation
The TPO membrane was mechanically attached for a fast,
cost-effective installation. “We were able to achieve the 20-year warranty the
client wanted without the added labor and materials costs of a fully adhered
system,” McKnight explains.
New roof hatches also were installed, providing safer, easier
access to the roof — both during the reroofing project and for ongoing
maintenance of the roof and rooftop equipment.
For the teams at both Tri-County Roofing and Sedgewick + Ferweda
Architects, the most rewarding part of the project was learning about the
residents who will live at Flatrock Manor and helping provide them with a
comfortable home.
“It was cool to learn about what Flatrock Manor does for people
with special needs and see how they’re helping families and meeting needs that
you forget are out there,” McKnight says.
TEAM
Roofing Contractor: Tri-County Roofing, Flushing, Michigan, www.tricountyroofingofmidmichigan.com
Architect: Sedgewick + Ferweda Architects, Flint, Michigan, www.architectsinmichigan.com
Roofing Insulation Take-Off: Tapered Solutions (ABC Supply
Co.), www.abcsupply.com/services/tapered-solutions
Roofing Materials Distributor: ABC Supply Co. Inc., www.abcsupply.com
MATERIALS
Roof Membrane: 60-mil white TPO, Mule-Hide Products Co., www.mulehide.com
Shingles: TrueDefinition Duration Designer shingles, Owens
Corning, www.owenscorning.com/roofing
Soffits and Fascia: Quality Aluminum Products, www.qualityaluminum.com
Published Article