Overview
Texas Fifth Wall Roofing (Fifth Wall) was able to solve a set of extremely unique challenges on the Hays County Municipal Center. In addition to a typical single ply membrane system, the job required metal corrugated decking materials on a dome that was a critical part of the design.
As a general rule, domes are seldom included features of construction, and as a result, few designers and installers are very familiar with the challenges and issues that are common with dome roofing systems. Since Fifth Wall had completed successful dome installations in the past, our team was well prepared to minimize risk and deliver a beautiful and functional dome.
This particular dome design incorporated a superstructure consisting of curved beams and columns made out of large pieces of red iron. Over the top of that structure, the design called for a corrugated metal decking.
Challenge One: A Square Peg in a Round Hole
The problem became evident early in the design phase. The deck lay in a straight span between the curved columns except where it deformed over the ring beams. Corrugations are typically used to provide additional stiffening making it difficult to bend the decking in two directions as required by the design specification. While corrugated decking panels can bend and flex along the parallel direction of the corrugations, they could not be curved to assume the spherical shape required in the dome design. According to Hewitt, “…it was a real life version of a square peg in a round hole.”