When Westat, Inc. expanded its headquarters facility in 2009, two Tnemec products turned out to be just what the owners needed to tie the new addition into the old. Westat is an organization that offers survey and statistical research services to agencies in the U.S. government, as well as businesses, foundation and state and local governments. Some of their research areas include education, social services, housing, energy, science and technology, transportation, and environmental protection.
As the organization continued to expand the number of projects and staff working at its Rockville, Maryland headquarters, a building expansion was needed. The expansion project was completed in 2009. During the expansion, Westat added a 50,000 square foot addition that included new metal roofs. The owner had originally planned on replacing the roofs on the existing building to match the roofs of the new addition, but the approximate $1 million cost of replacement caused the owners of Westat to consider a high-performance coating as an alternative.
The coatings applicator heard that the owner was looking for a high performance coating for the existing roof that would also match the newly installed section. According to Tnemec coating consultant Todd Guntner, “The applicator immediately thought of Tnemec as the company who could meet this requirement.” The applicator contacted Guntner and they developed a system that would provide low maintenance and high performance as well as match the newly installed roofs on the addition.
For the roofs, a system utilizing Series 135 Chembuild, a high-build epoxy with superior wetting for marginally prepared rusty steel and self-priming characteristics, followed by a topcoat of Series 1072 Fluoronar, a high-solids fluoropolymer coating that provides an ultra-durable finish with outstanding color and gloss retention, was the best solution for extended protection and color stability.
The applicator high-pressure water jetted the metal roofs in accordance with SSPC-SP12/NACE No. 5. The roofs then received a coat of Series 135. In order to get the existing roofs to match the copper green patina of the new roofs, Tnemec’s color lab created an exact color match. The color-matched topcoat of Series 1072 was then roller-applied at two to three mils DFT. Once applied, the owner was pleased to have chosen coatings that allowed the new roofs to match the original roofs while also providing outstanding color and gloss retention.