Republic's Geogard Coatings on New Mexico's Hardest Roof Restoration Talk about a "Hard" roof Making cement involves taking limestone and clay  for (silica, alumina and iron), crushing these materials together, fusing this mixture into calcium and aluminum silicates to form clinker and milling the clinker into cement powder.  The GCC Rio Grande Cement Milling Building mills limestone and clay so the combined materials can pass through the kiln to be transformed into clinker and then milling the clinker into cement powder.    The GCC Rio Grande Mill Building was first re-roofed in 1985 with a mechanical fastened Hypalon membrane over high-density fiberboard over a structural concrete deck. Now twenty years later, the Hypalon roof which owed much of its longevity to the solid half inch to two inch over-burden of hardened limestone and clay dust had to be re-roofed. Tearing-off or re-covering the old Hypalon roof on the 60-foot high building with  the hardened layers of  limestone and clay and with a concrete deck would be extremely difficult.  Standard re-roof options would have slowed the plant's cement production, something the owner didn't want and would  be extremely expensive.

Alpha Construction Services for the past four years has made repairs to the Mill Building's existing Hypalon roof using Republic's Geogard Urethane coatings. Because of the Mills harsh roof environment and past performance of the Geogard coating repairs. Alpha and the owner decided the best course of action was to coat the entire roof with Republic Powdered Metals Geogard Urethane Restoration Coating.  Before the Geogard Coating could be applied, the accumulated 20-years of hardened limestone-clay-clinker dust on the roof had to be removed. With so much hardened cement like materials, just power washing would not work.  Power-washing alone would  wash the limestone/clay materials down the drains where it would hardened like concrete.  Alpha used 3,000 PSI compressed air and shovels to loosen and remove the bulk of the limestone-clay-clinker dust mixture off the 60-foot high Mill roof before power-washing to loosen and remove any remaining materials and dust. Over the years as the Hypalon's TiO2 filler chalked out, and some of the limestone-cement dust remained bonded into the Hypalon's porous membrane surface, becoming a permanent part of the Hypalon substrate staining those areas gray.

Tons of the hardened layers of limestone-clay-clinker powder on the Milling building were removed with high pressure air and shovels off the 60-foot high Milling building before the old Hypalon roof could be power-washed.

Once the Limestone/Clay over-burden materiasl were removed, it was time to apply the Geogard Base Coat to all equipment curbs and wall flashings.  Republic's Permafab Fabric is applied into the first coating of Geogard Base Coat at all angle changes and corners reinforcing all stress points.  An additional coat is applied over the fabric forming a thick base layer for long term performance of the flashings. Any existing defective field seams were repaired with the Geogard base coat and Permafab fabric.  Hypalon, PVC or 45-mil EPDM seams in good condition do not require any repairs or stripping in due to high-strength of the Geogard urethane membrane.

Once the Republic's Geogard Base Coat is completely cured. (Curing takes 24-36 hours depending on temperature and humidity) The Geogard Finish Coat is applied.

After all the wall flashings and curb flashings have been coated with the Geogard Finish Coat.  Geogard Base Coat is applied to the entire field membrane area and allowed to cure. (Typically for the field this will take 48-hours.) Once the Geogard Base Coat is cured, the roof surface was blown free of dust from the daily Mill operations and the Geogard Finish Coat was applied.

The completed Rio Grande Mill Building's Geogard Roof Restoration System and the Rio Grande Mill owner's roof is protected by the Republic's 12-year Material and Labor Warranty. Most common non-fibered Acrylic roof coatings form soft-low strength acrylic films much like thick-high solid paints. The Geogard Coating becomes a part of the existing Hypalon membrane, increasing the existing Hypalon membrane thickness by 68% with a tough-high strength 30-mil thick cured urethane membrane over the weathered Hypalon membrane.  The Geogard Finish Coat's high tensile strength of 3,480 PSI and a Shore Hardness of 80 is stronger and tougher than the existing Hypalon membrane. Over time this Geogard Roof will become covered by hardened layers of limestone, clay and clinker dust from the plant's Milling operations. The Geogard Coating will remain unaffected by the harsh alkaline roof environment. The Republic's Geogard Coating System is UL Class A and FM Class I rated.  Republic's Geogard Urethane Restoration Coatings provides long term and cost effective solutions to complex re-roofing projects where conventional re-roof options are too difficult and too expensive.