Replacing Wood Block with the Knucklehead Rooftop Support System

This project involved replacing wood blocks with KnuckleHead supports as part of roof upgrade on a retail building in East Lansing, Michigan.

The contractor had applied a two-coat liquid polyurethane coating over an aging BUR.  Installers had to work around dozens of deteriorating wood blocks which had been used to support multiple steel gas lines and some electrical conduit coming from HVAC units.

Following the completion of the topcoat, GREEN LINK personnel handled the removal of the blocks and the installation of the KnuckleHeads.  Three types of KnuckleHeads were utilized:  Heavy Pipe supports for 2½-inch nominal pipe size steel gas line pipes, Lite Pipe KnuckleHeads for smaller lines ranging from ¾” to 1 ½” diameters, and Strut KnuckleHeads for steel channel which supported pipeline clusters.

The Knuckle Head designs contributed to an easy and efficient replacement strategy.  KnuckleHeads were placed under the pipes and conduits adjacent to the wooden blocks.  Because KnuckleHeads can be elevated by turning the heads clockwise, this allowed the pipes to be raised above the wood blocks so they could be removed.

The wood supports had to be cut out with a razor edge because the coating had been applied from the roof surface up along the sides of some of the blocks. Once the blocks were removed, the contractor was able to apply liquid urethane to the uncoated areas.  The loose laid KnuckleHeads were then lowered to the desired height and spaced to provide optimum load distribution.

Each KnuckleHead was placed on a GREEN LINK KnucklePad, a yellow-tinted urethane pad to protect the roof coating.  The project involved approximately 100 KnuckleHeads:  40 were utilized to support steel channel ranging from two feet to six feet in lengths; 30 large pipe supports and 30 lite pipe supports completed the job.

Learn more about Knuckleheads at www.greenlinkengineering.com.

BEFORE THE INSTALLATION

FINISHED INSTALLATION

BEFORE THE INSTALLATION

FINISHED INSTALLATION

BEFORE THE INSTALLATION

FINISHED INSTALLATION

BEFORE THE INSTALLATION

FINISHED INSTALLATION

BEFORE THE INSTALLATION

FINISHED INSTALLATION

DETAILS OF THE INSTALLATION