RAD Systems helps save a 132 year old Sacramento landmark
In one week, RAD Systems took a 132-year-old Sacramento landmark from a leaking roof and crumbling brick to a seamless, custom spray foam and silicone roof backed by a 20-year labor and material warranty. Here's how spray polyurethane foam solved problems no conventional roofing system could.
A Sacramento Landmark
Built in 1893, the brick building at 1215 19th Street served as the original Sacramento Fire Department. Horse-drawn wagons once rolled out of its ground-floor bays to answer the city's earliest alarms.
After 132 years, the architecture was still remarkable, but the masonry was quietly failing. The double-wythe brick walls and hollow interior columns had mortar that had turned back into sand and dust. The modified bitumen roof had failed long ago. And two active tenants were counting on the building staying dry.
The Client and the Tenants
The call came from Melissa Shorey of The Symmetry Group, one of RAD Systems' best and most demanding clients. She expects contractors to show up prepared, communicate daily and deliver on their word. This job tested all three.
Mulvaney's B&L (ground floor): The restaurant stayed open for the entire project. Our crew coordinated with staff every day, covering and uncovering the patio to protect diners from debris and overspray.
Health Sherpa (second floor): The office tenant generously took the week off, so the crew could work above the demolition zone without disrupting an active workplace.
One Scope Became Many
The original plan was simple: spray foam directly over the existing built-up asphalt roof. No tear-off, minimal disruption and two or three days of work. Then we pressed down on the deck.
Soft spots in the valleys revealed structural failure under the membrane.
Extensive dry rot ran throughout the plywood deck.
A complete tear-off took the roof down to bare plywood and the tops of the brick walls.
19 new sheets of plywood replaced every section of rotted deck.
The top course of brick on the inside and outside walls came off with the old roof, exposing hollow cavities, missing sections and large voids.
The 132-year-old mortar had reverted to sand and dust, leaving nothing for a conventional fastener to grip.
"Once the asphalt was removed, we found hollow cavity walls, hollow brick columns, huge missing sections and voids that were completely exposed. I do not know how any other roofing product that would have to be fastened or anchored would have worked, or even been an option." – Field Assessment, RAD Systems Inc.
Filling 132-Year-Old Hollow Walls
Over a century of heat cycles had separated the inner and outer layers of brick. The hollow cavity between them was a direct path for water into the building, and a structural liability.
The crew injected BASF SkyTite® C-3 closed-cell spray foam into every void. Spray foam expands roughly 32 times its liquid volume and bonds chemically to wood, metal, brick, crumbling mortar and even sand. As it cures, it becomes a rigid, closed-cell mass. The two layers of brick that had been shifting against each other for 132 years are now one bonded structure, with R-7+ insulation running through the wall cavity.
The rest of the work included:
Six new Velux Dynamic Dome skylights on new raised 12" curbs, built into the roofing system
Every exposed void in the masonry sealed before roofing began
All work scheduled each day around Mulvaney's restaurant service
Six Things Spray Foam Does That Other Roofs Can't
Needs no solid substrate. SPF bonds to sand, dust, crumbling mortar and irregular masonry. Conventional systems need solid, flat surfaces to fasten to, and this building had none.
Fills, seals and bonds. One material filled the hollow walls, sealed every penetration and bonded the deteriorated masonry, with no separate products and no seams between systems.
Zero seams. Every skylight, pipe, curb and parapet is wrapped in a single continuous membrane, leaving no leak paths.
R-value through the roof. Closed-cell SPF adds R-7+ per inch, giving the building continuous insulation across the deck and through the walls where none existed before.
Renewable for life. When the silicone topcoat weathers 20+ years from now, the fix is another coat of silicone, not a new roof.
Works around active tenants. No gravel blasting, no torch-down fumes and no building closure. The liquid-applied system let us work around Mulvaney's lunch service every day.
The Finished Roof
The foam was topped with Polyglass PolyBrite® 90 high-solids silicone. The steep sections received two coats at 1.5 gallons per square per coat to reach the film thickness needed for full protection and warranty compliance. The result is a reflective white membrane that can lower roof surface temperatures by up to 80°F on a Sacramento summer day.
A Polyglass 20-year labor and material warranty only goes on roofs that meet strict installation specifications: every sheet of plywood, every inch of foam and every gallon of silicone.
Project Specifications
Location: 1215 19th St, Sacramento, CA 95811
Building age: 132 years (built 1893)
Foam system: BASF SkyTite® C-3 closed-cell SPF
Topcoat: Polyglass PolyBrite® 90 silicone, 2 coats at 1.5 gal/sq per coat
Plywood replaced: 19 sheets
Skylights: 6 Velux Dynamic Dome units
Wall cavities: All hollow brick voids filled
Project duration: One week
Warranty: 20-year Polyglass labor and material
The Bottom Line
TPO can't fill hollow walls. EPDM can't bond to sand. Modified bitumen can't wrap brick, and metal panels can't conform to irregular historic masonry. BASF spray foam did all of it in one application, in one week, with a 20-year warranty behind it.
With over 3,000,000 square feet installed and zero customer roof leaks in 15+ years, RAD Systems has the experience, crew and technology to handle the jobs that stop conventional contractors. Call or text 279-225-1221 or email info@rainairdefense.com for a free inspection and written estimate.