First Baptist Church - Stephenville, Texas
Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing
First Baptist Church
Window wet sealing, wall coatings, PRAM survey, below-grade waterproofing, loose concrete removal
First Baptist Church in Stephenville, Texas, is almost 100 years old, and its age is starting to show. The facade is weathered and the building was ridden with active leaks. Chamberlin was hired to work on several projects for the ministry to stop the leaks. One known area of leaks was the windows, but the cause of the leaks was undetermined. Chamberlin investigated and found a large gap between the window frames and the building façade. To remedy, crews caulked the window perimeters, glass to metal joints and metal to metal joints with Tremco Spectrum Series silicone, which is a high performance silicone material. In just two short weeks, the wet glazing was complete and the windows no longer leaked.
One masonry wall of the church had leaked since original construction. Numerous attempts had been made over the years to fix it, but no permanent solution had been found. Chamberlin once again investigated and found that the mortar joints were recessed about ¼ of an inch. Additionally, the brick was cracking and the waterproofing behind it was not working as intended. To begin, the mortar joints were caulked over with a urethane sealant. Then, an elastomeric coating was applied to the wall to waterproof it from the outside. It was a success; after nearly a century, the wall has stopped leaking.
Another building on the ministry campus, called the paradigm building, serves as First Baptist Church's youth center. The bottom floor of the building, which was below grade, had been experiencing leaks. Though the center had been built after the church, it is still nearly 70 years old, and the original waterproofing had outlived its life span. Chamberlin crews excavated two feet down on one wall of the building to install cold fluid-applied waterproofing and a drainage mat. This quick fix left the building leak free.
Finally, Chamberlin waterproofed a choir room from the inside to remedy leaks that were occurring during rain events. Crews ground down the masonry walls and applied a rubberized waterproofing coating, leaving the choir room watertight. The church's facility manager was very pleased with the work and relieved to have a leak-free campus at last. They discussed facade restoration with Chamberlin and consultant WJE, and look forward to continuing our relationship if they decide to go forward with the restoration.
In addition to the waterproofing maintenance performed, Chamberlin conducted a roof survey including the main upper section, main lower section, sky bridge and worship center/fellowship hall totaling just over 40,000 square feet. The survey identified the roofs' current conditions and any deficiences found, such as punctures, tears and rips in the membrane and open flashings. These failures can allow water to infiltrate the building interior causing further damages. Another defect noted, and removed, was loose debris which has a high probability of blowing around on the roof and causing damage to the roofing membrane. Chamberlin provided First Baptist Church with a full report of recommended repairs and pricing to help them manage their roof.