Elysian Beach Resort, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
RETROFIT TEAM
ROOFING CONTRACTOR: Rooftops Silicone Distributors Inc., (340) 778-8550
MATERIALS
The beautiful Elysian Beach Resort is located next to the St. Thomas Yacht Club on the eastern end of the island. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria created catastrophic damage on St. Thomas, including the destruction of the resort’s roofs, causing it to close. The existing composite tile roofing material on the Elysian Beach Resort’s buildings was replaced with .032 aluminum Ascot White CastleTop shingles, manufactured by ATAS International Inc. CastleTop shingles have an embossed texture and an expanded polystyrene backboard that supports the shingle during installation and aids in sound dampening. The shingles’ tab interlock design resists wind uplift.
CastleTop aluminum shingles were recommended by Rooftops Silicone Distributors to the timeshare owners association. The contractor had them installed on his own home and could personally attest to their performance in high-wind areas. The energy-efficient Ascot White 70 percent PVDF paint finish has a high solar reflectance index rating of 83, which will result in more of the sun’s heat being reflected away, rather than being absorbed into the buildings. This will help reduce cooling costs for the timeshare owners. In addition, pre-painted 70 percent PVDF aluminum metal panels are resistant to the corrosive effects of a marine environment, as tested in accordance with ASTM B117-85 (salt fog tolerance).
Rooftops Silicone Distributors’ crew installed a total of 62,400 square feet of the diamond-shaped shingles. “It is hard to tell in the photos just how high off the ground these roofs were on the front side,” says Rodger Bressi, the contracting firm’s managing director. “We needed 120-foot manlifts to reach the areas.”
The retrofit project was completed in 2020.
ALUMINUM SHINGLES MANUFACTURER: ATAS International Inc.