Replacement is first in over 30 years
It’s been a while since Thomas Cooper Library’s roof was replaced.
When crews from North Carolina-based AAR Roofing began work this month, it marked the first roof replacement since the mid-1970’s, according to Jeff Lamberson, Facilities’ director of design and construction.
The 290,000-square-foot library, an expansion of a 30,000-square-foot structure, was completed in 1976.
The work is expected to be finished in April and will cost the university $800,000, according to Lamberson. It’s one of a number of projects on USC’s list of deferred maintenance needs.
Normally, roofs are designed to last 25 to 30 years, and when workers were repairing marble panels on the side of the building four years ago, they found water damage, Lamberson said. That was about 30 years after the roofing was last replaced, he said. Black tar from the roof has also been streaking down the outside walls, he said.
USC patched up the roof then, but it’s been in need of a complete overhaul since, he said.