Commercial roofing company Ideal Building Solutions was selected as the contractor to re-roof a senior citizen facility in Atlanta.

The six-month project required tearing off the original roof work of the Helene S. Mills multipurpose facility, and replacing it with a hemlock-green, mechanical-lock metal roof from Firestone Building Products. The highly reflective color will reduce cooling costs for the structure, officials said.

Ryan Finney of Ideal Building Solution said the old roof was not good for the facility.

“It wasn’t the right roof for the job,” he said. “There were a lot of long runs and when it rained, the water was going over and into the 1-1/2-inch snap-lock seams. That system was not intended to deal with that much water.”

Finney said the job, which consisted of 46,000 square feet of new panels, required a lot of safety precautions.

“That was a special project,” he said. “Safety was a major concern, for our employees as well as the seniors using the building. It was open during the tear-off and install, so we were extra careful. We had one of our safety people onsite at all times. We’re proud of the way it looks, the way it works and the way we were able to install it safely.”

The project was finished in March 2013.

 “The double mechanical lock is a pretty tight seam,” Finney said. “We haven’t had any problems there at all. We even designed a cricket system to divert water around the large air vents and keep it moving off the roof. You need to show customers your solutions to unique problems like that so they feel comfortable sending work your way.”