Case Studies

GacoFlex S20 Silicone Over Built-Up Mod-Bit Roof Restoration – Westin Hotel Kansas City at Crown Center (MO)

Situation:

Located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Crown Center features shops, hotels, restaurants, and theaters. This ‘city within a city’ also includes residences and businesses adjoining the corporate headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Inc., parent of Crown Center Redevelopment Corp.

The complex includes a hotel owned by Crown Center and operates as The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center. The hotel follows a regular maintenance schedule for its roofs. As Crown Center building engineers planned a new roof for the Westin, they realized that they were at a crossroads. They either had to pay the expense of installing a new roof or find a way to extend the life of the existing roof another 10-15 years.

Solution:

Sellers and Marquis, a Kansas City-based roofing contractor, elected to apply the GacoFlex S20 Roof Coating System over the entire 39,100 square foot roof. There was no need to tear off the existing modified bitumen roof, significantly reducing the expense and the environmental impact of landfill disposal. And with GacoFlex S20’s excellent waterproofing capabilities, Sellers and Marquis felt confident that the life of the roof would be extended and its performance would meet the needs of the hotel.

The white GacoFlex S20 coating also provides a ‘green’ solution. It reflects UV sunlight, reducing the need for cooling in summer, and it reduces the urban heat island effect. Coating instead of re-roofing proved a more environmentally-friendly, sustainable solution.

Maintenance Division Manager at Sellers and Marquis, Mike Davis, said “The customer was very pleased with our results. Using GacoFlex S20 will open doors for us where customers want to extend the life of their roof instead of replacing it.”

Unique Characteristics:

The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center is a luxury hotel, and hotel guests certainly expect not to be disturbed during their visit. Mike Davis described the logistics of repairing the roof as ‘landlocked.’ In the middle of the city it was very difficult to complete the project without disturbing the guests while making space to work.

Installation:

Another consequence of being landlocked is that the contractor couldn’t set up a crane. Davis moved the components of a hoist up the elevator, and then set up the motorized hoist on the roof to pull a 300-lb hose to the top. Sellers and Marquis sent up an X-70 pump, extruded the GacoFlex S20 out of the hose, and then applied it with a roller. Because of the urban environment, Davis couldn’t risk over spray.

Another challenge of the job was the lack of parapet walls. Workers had to be harnessed full-time with additional tie-off points, so progress was much slower than usual.