Start with the existing roof: confirm that a moisture survey shows where the membrane and insulation are wet and that the drawings show what is removed and replaced before PMMA goes on, since the issued Section 07 18 16 applies PMMA only after those repairs are accepted and its opening note requires the existing roof to be sound, attached, and dry. Then check that the substrate of each roof area, the cover board and wind uplift basis, the approval listing, flashing heights at curbs and walls, drains, penetrations, expansion joints, traffic areas, continuity testing, and the warranty scope agree with the roof plan, the details, and the related sections.
Assemble the review package
Gather the roof plans with the existing roof system named for each area, the roof condition and moisture survey with core results and the drawing of wet areas, the removal and replacement plan for wet membrane and insulation, the tapered insulation and drainage plan with drains, overflows, and scuppers, the parapet, curb, wall, edge, scupper, drain, expansion joint, and through-wall flashing details, the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical roof plans with equipment, curbs, hot pipes, kitchen exhaust, grease discharge, and conduit penetrations, the structural drawings with deck type and the capacity of the existing roof, the plans of any pedestrian or vehicle deck with its traffic areas and striping, the wind design basis and uplift zones, the energy analysis and cool roof decision, the fall protection anchorages, the manufacturer’s details and approval listing, and the issued Section 07 18 16 with Sections 07 22 00, 07 60 00, 06 10 00, 07 92 00, 01 45 00, 01 33 29, and Section 07 55 00 where PMMA is the membrane under a protected membrane roof. Follow one roof area from its moisture survey to its finished surface, and one rooftop unit from its curb to its flashing, before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 07 18 16: Cold Liquid-Applied Reinforced Polymethyl Methacrylate Roofing as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 10, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Existing roof, moisture survey, and removals | Opening note (existing roof and substrate structurally sound, properly attached, and dry; acceptable existing substrates built-up, metal, single-ply, and modified bitumen) + System Description bracket (over existing, new, or concrete and the listed roof systems; PMMA only after deteriorated and wet membrane and insulation are removed and the roof is accepted; repairs to NRCA C3701) + Field Inspection and Existing Conditions Report (contractor’s field survey with a moisture survey and a drawing of entrapped moisture; SD-06) + roof survey + roof plans | Does a moisture survey from the design phase exist, and do the drawings show which wet membrane and insulation are removed and what fills each area, or is all of it left to the contractor’s survey after award, which the note describes as confirming conditions already shown in the design documents? Is the existing system of each roof area named on the roof plan and within the substrates the opening note accepts, and since the System Description bracket also offers concrete, which the note’s list omits, has the specifier said which surfaces each area presents? |
| Cover board, single-ply recover, and wind uplift | Cover Board note (some systems need the existing single-ply removed or cut before a cover board or new insulation; delete cover board and joint tape if not needed) + Cover Board Installation bracket (mechanically fastened or adhered, resisting uplift at corners, perimeter, and field) + Wind Uplift Resistance notes and bracket (include over a newly adhered cover board; ASCE 7-22 loads validated by FM testing; remove the FM reference over an unrated assembly; show calculated values in the specification or drawings) + SD-05 Wind Uplift Calculations + roof plan zones + structural drawings | Where the existing roof is single-ply, has the manufacturer’s requirement to remove, cut, or overlay it been settled and drawn, where a cover board is added, is the Wind Uplift Resistance paragraph kept with the calculated uplift pressures shown by zone on the drawings or in the specification, as its note asks, where the existing assembly is unrated, has the FM test reference been removed, as the note directs, and does the cover board attachment kept in Cover Board Installation match the assembly those calculations assume? |
| Approval listing, fire classification, and qualifications | Product Standards (FM Class I-4470 roofing system or roof coating system listing over existing roof substrates; tailoring note for Army and Navy) + Polymethyl Methacrylate Membrane article (“Systems meeting UL Class and FM 4470 Approval”) + References article (no FM, UL, or ICRI entry) + Manufacturer, Installer, and Inspector Qualifications (SD-07) + Quality Control note (roof consultant, engineer, or architect on the design team for larger or mission-critical roofs) | Has the tailoring option been chosen so a single FM listing remains, does that listing cover the existing substrate actually present, has a fire classification been named with its UL test standard, since the membrane article says “UL Class” without naming a class or a standard, and have FM 4470 and that standard been added to the References article, which lists neither? Where the roof is large or mission critical, is a qualified roof consultant, engineer, or architect named on the design team, as the Quality Control note requires? |
| Substrate preparation, moisture, and primers by material | Concrete Substrates (ACI 301 and ACI SPEC 308.1, relative humidity by ASTM F2170, ICRI concrete surface profile, adhesion by ASTM D4541) + Masonry Substrates (sound walls; ASTM F2170 or F2659) + Metal Substrates (“near-white metal in accordance with SSPC SP 15 (Commercial grade power tool cleaning)”; galvanized passivation removal) + Rigid Plastics + Primers article and moisture mitigation primer note + Primer, Low Odor Epoxy, and Moisture Mitigation Epoxy Primer Application + roof details and existing conditions | Do the details and the existing conditions record say which material each surface presents, existing membrane, concrete deck, masonry parapet, galvanized curb, or plastic pipe, so the matching preparation, primer, and adhesion test apply, is the moisture mitigation primer kept or deleted to follow the moisture test results, as its note directs, since Metal Substrates asks for near-white metal while citing the commercial grade power tool cleaning standard, has the specifier said which cleanliness governs, and has the ICRI surface profile reference been added to the References article? |
| Flashing heights, curbs, walls, and terminations | Sequencing (permanent flashing and counterflashing in accordance with NRCA CONDET) + Re-Roof Preparation (remove base flashings, counterflashings, and pitch pans; modify curbs, sills, and equipment for clear curb height) + Preparation item g (paint removed to the minimum height shown on the drawings) + Flashing Membrane Application (termination height where possible, at least the potential water level; do not flash over through-wall flashings, weep holes, or overflow scuppers; fleece overlaps in items g and l) + Walls, Curbs and Bases + Section 07 60 00 + parapet, curb, and wall details | Do the details show the flashing height at each wall and curb, and where existing curbs, sills, or equipment are too low for the clear height Re-Roof Preparation requires, do the drawings show them raised or modified, is the height to which paint is removed actually shown, as Preparation item g assumes, do the details stop the PMMA below existing through-wall flashings, weeps, and overflow scuppers, and since items g and l of Flashing Membrane Application state different minimum fleece overlaps at side laps, which one governs? |
| Drains, penetrations, hot pipes, and joints | Penetrations and Flashings (penetrations separated and flashed individually, never ganged; drain target and finger flashing into the bowl; new drains include plumbing and connection to the storm sewer; hot pipes above a stated temperature flashed to a cool sleeve; goosenecks for flexible penetrations; expansion joints over filler, tube, backer rod, and bond breaker tape; vehicle impact protection) + Roof Penetrations (protective cement surface at kitchen vents and grease traps) + Moving crack treatments (bond breaker tape; urethane sealant) + mechanical, plumbing, and electrical roof plans + structural expansion joints | Do the trade roof plans show conduits or pipes grouped in one pitch pan or too close to flash individually, and has the trade that owns them been asked to separate them, are new drains on the plumbing drawings with their piping to the storm system, since the Drains paragraph puts that cost on the contractor, are hot pipes identified with their service temperature so a cool sleeve is detailed, are kitchen exhaust and grease discharge points marked for the protective surface, and since the crack and expansion joint treatments call for bond breaker tape and urethane sealant that PART 2 does not specify, are they added or sent to Section 07 92 00? |
| Traffic areas, wearing layer, continuity testing, and cool roof | System Components (membrane, resin-mortar wearing layer, surfacing, and finish) + Surfacing and Finish Layer bracket (optional; light or heavy texture) + Waterproof PMMA Mortar Wearing Layer + Waterproofing Continuity Testing (low voltage, high voltage, or flood test before wearing layers) + Traffic Surfacing and Finish (standard duty secondary deck areas, heavy duty main deck areas, full-depth or surface-applied striping, color breaks approved by the Government) + Cool Roofs note and bracket (UFC 3-110-03 and ASHRAE 90.1 Chapter 5; condensation in colder climate zones) + deck and roof plans | Do the plans mark which areas are roof only, pedestrian, or vehicular, and which are standard duty secondary deck or heavy duty main deck, with the striping layout and color breaks, since System Components lists the wearing layer and surfacing for every area while the surfacing article is optional, is one continuity test method chosen and confirmed with the manufacturer and the testing agency for this substrate, and is the cool roof bracket kept or deleted to follow the energy analysis and the climate zone, as its note warns? |
| Field tests, inspections, warranty, and closeout | Submittals (SD-06 existing conditions report; SD-09 Field Tests and bracketed Manufacturer’s Inspection Report; SD-11 Warranty and Information Card) + Field Quality Control (“Perform field tests” with no test named) + Manufacturer’s Inspection note, Frequency bracket, and Field Inspection Report + Manufacturer’s Warranty (no-dollar-limit system warranty including insulation “[ in compliance with ASTM D5034]”; acceptance by a “Roofing System Engineer of Record”) + Contractor’s Warranty + Information Card (“number of plies”, tapered insulation) + Section 01 45 00 | Has the specifier named the field tests SD-09 asks for, such as the adhesion and continuity tests the section describes elsewhere, and matched the bracketed Manufacturer’s Inspection Report to the Field Inspection Report its paragraph produces, who is the Roofing System Engineer of Record whose acceptance the warranty waits on, has the bracket tying insulation to ASTM D5034, a textile grab test, been corrected, and has the manufacturer agreed in writing to warrant the existing insulation and membrane the recover leaves in place? |
Worked example: a recover over wet insulation, a ganged pitch pan, and an unmarked maintenance deck
Illustrative example: a two-story maintenance hangar office has a granulated modified bitumen roof near the end of its service life and a concrete walkway deck between two roof levels that technicians cross daily. The design team specifies PMMA over the existing roof and the deck to extend their life, and the issued Section 07 18 16 keeps the cover board and wind uplift brackets, the heavy-duty main deck surfacing, and the whole warranty article. The roof plan names no existing system by area, the design documents include no moisture survey, and the roof plan shows no uplift zones or values. The mechanical roof plan places a new exhaust fan on an existing curb lower than the clear curb height the Re-Roof Preparation article requires, and the electrical roof plan routes six conduits through one existing pitch pan. The walkway deck drawings show no traffic areas, striping, or expansion joint detail.
Ask the roof consultant to commission a moisture survey before bidding and to show the wet areas to be removed and their replacement on the roof plan, and to name the existing system of each area. Ask the structural engineer or roof consultant to show the calculated uplift pressures by zone and to confirm that the existing roof can take the cover board attachment. Ask the mechanical engineer to raise the curb and the electrical engineer to separate the conduits so each can be flashed individually, ask the architect to mark the traffic areas, striping, and the expansion joint detail on the walkway deck, and ask the specifier to name the field tests, define the engineer whose acceptance the warranty waits on, and obtain the manufacturer’s written agreement to warrant the existing components left in place.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 07 18 16 covers the PMMA membrane, its flashing membrane, primers, patching, the resin-mortar wearing layer, and traffic surfacing over existing or new roofing. New insulation and recovery board under the membrane follow Section 07 22 00 and the roof insulation guide, counterflashing, cap flashings, and edge metal follow Section 07 60 00 and the flashing and sheet metal guide, wood nailers and blocking follow Section 06 10 00, roof drains and storm piping follow the plumbing section, and the quality control specialist follows Section 01 45 00, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Where PMMA is the membrane under insulation and ballast, Section 07 55 00 Protected Membrane Roofing names Section 07 18 16 as one of its membrane options and governs the layers above it; see the protected membrane roofing guide. EPDM is Section 07 53 23, TPO is 07 54 23, and modified bitumen is 07 52 00, each with its own guide. Its notes cite UFC 3-110-03 Roofing, ASHRAE 90.1 Chapter 5, and ANSI/ASSE A1264.1; confirm the editions your project invokes. Its Product Standards and membrane articles require FM and UL approvals that its References article does not list, its Metal Substrates paragraph pairs near-white metal with the commercial grade power tool cleaning standard, its two flashing paragraphs state different fleece overlaps, its PMMA Detailer Resin appears twice, and its warranty waits on an engineer of record the section does not define. Wind uplift, the structural capacity of the existing roof, fire classification, energy performance, and the warranty are decisions for the roof consultant, the structural engineer, the architect, the manufacturer, and the owner. The current guide section cites ACI 301, ACI SPEC 308.1, ASCE 7-22, SSPC SP 15, ASTM C1325, D41, D570, D1204, D2240, D4541, D5034, D5147, D7264, E96, F2170, and F2659, ISO 9001 and 14001, and NRCA C3701 and CONDET; confirm the editions your project invokes.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.