Shine On, Dome
 

SHINE ON, DOME
'Largest roof job in American history' to leave the Superdome with a new, gleaming white hurricane-proof top by month's end

Saturday, July 08, 2006
By Jeff Duncan



The New Orleans skyline will start to look more familiar in the next couple of weeks.

For the first time since Hurricane Katrina tore open its roof more than 10 months ago, the Superdome will sport the smooth, white top that locals have grown accustomed to seeing against the downtown skyline.

Workers are expected to begin applying the final coats of urethane sealant this week, said Tom Keller, project manager for Brazos Urethane of College Station, Texas, the company that's replacing the roof.

If all goes well, the stadium's roof will be gleaming white by the end of the month, completing what contractors and Dome officials are calling the largest roof job in American construction history.

Workers will spray the roof with five coats of urethane paint two gray base coats topped by three layers of white. Each coat takes three days to apply, Keller said. When finished, the entire five-coat application will be about as thick as a nickel.

Thanks to an extended drought in May and June, Keller's crews were able to finish the most labor-intensive part of the job on June 30, when they replaced the final piece of metal decking on the 9.7-acre expanse. Before the recent spate of rain, crews missed only six workdays because of inclement weather, Keller said.

Beating target date

In all, 10,463 pieces of galvanized 16-gauge fluted metal decking were mounted on the 270-foot-high roof. Each piece of deck was coated with a 2.5-inch-thick layer of polyurethane foam. Approximately 500,000 gallons of foam was used to cover the entire surface area.

With the bulk of the job complete, Keller has reduced his crew from a high of 125 workers to fewer than 40. Weather permitting, he expects to finish the job by the end of the month, well ahead of the original Sept. 1 target date.

"It's gone about as well as can be expected," Keller said. "The (good) weather has been a big factor. But I don't want to take anything away from my guys, because they have kicked butt."

Story continues.....
http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index...l=1&thispage=2


8)

Sounds awesome.

Not even sure that new roof will be able to withstand the crowd noise on Sept 24th

Can't wait until the Dome is back to normal, but there won't be anything normal what will go on inside the Dome Sept. 24th...
The Dome will again Shake, Rattle & Roll as years past (Dome Patrol)