Divine Invention

Words: Dan KamysMarch 2008 CASE STUDY #1

Resurrecting a church school with speed and savings

Challenge

The nearly 50-year-old St. Patrick's Church School in North Kansas City, Mo., was to undergo upgrading and remodeling of its brick exterior. To guard against future water damage or mold growth, the church needed a reliable moisture-control system installed in the remodeled walls. However, the budget was tight.

Approach

North Kansas City-based MTS Contracting specified the restoration version of TOTALFlash, made by Mortar Net USA, as the moisture-control system.

Two key reasons were cited:

 
  • Although the all-in-one product itself was a bit more expensive than conventional flashing, it offered more protections. Each five-foot panel of flexible flashing included a built-in termination bar, built-in mortar-capture system, built-in weep tabs, built-in edge dam, built-in drip-edge, and foolproof lap joints. Since all components were pre-assembled onto the flashing panels, all materials would arrive together, with no downtime waiting for deliveries.
  • Regarding the tight budget, TOTALFlash's speed of installation would not only offset cost, but also it would create substantial net savings in time and labor. MTS won the bid, and the installation went beautifully.

"The old surfaces were very uneven," says Justin Fritter, project manager, "but TOTALFlash covered them without a problem. It installed easily, even in the restricted confines of a restoration job. In fact, we saved more than half the time and labor it would have cost to install conventional flashing."

Result

MTS had a profitable job, and the church received much better protection for its brick walls than could normally have been afforded. TOTALFlash Case Studies: Flashing    — Ameristar Casino/Hotel

   — The Many Lives of Copper Flashings

     
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