Parapet cladding

Roofing system (or roofing membrane) degradation is largely driven by physical impact (foot traffic, hail, etc.), solar radiation, and extreme temperature fluctuations. The longevity of a roofing system can be increased by protecting it from these elements.

Our roofing system is protected from the elements by the drainage layer and the insulated roof pavers, except along the parapet. Our solution was to cover the parapet with XPS insulation (or pink board). Because XPS insulation will degrade when exposed to sunlight, I cladded the whole parapet in aluminum.

It is a similar principle to the insulated pavers, with the XPS insulation at the bottom, which in turn is protected by the thinset layer atop.

The XPS insulation along the parapet is basically an extension of the coping nailer. The aluminum cladding is fastened to the coping nailer, and riveted together at the seams. The cladding is installed from the bottom of the roof to the top so that the overlap at each seam is pointing downstream.

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About Marcus de la fleur

Marcus is a Registered Landscape Architect with a horticultural degree from the School of Horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Sheffield, UK. He developed a landscape based sustainable pilot project at 168 Elm Ave. in 2002, and has expanded his skill set to building science. Starting in 2009, Marcus applied the newly acquired expertise to the deep energy retrofit of his 100+ year old home in Chicago.

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