Drill Weekends and Training Calendars
An armory is not a conventional office. It is full on drill weekends, as an Army reserve center is, quiet on weekdays, and closed to outsiders in ways that depend on what is stored inside. We start every project by asking for the training calendar, the hours the hall is empty and the areas where uninvited access is not allowed. Then we cut the roof into phases that each end watertight, usually finishing noisy tear-off and fastening during weekday shifts.
Security rules shape the staging. Crews may need a badge or an escort, vehicles may be checked at the gate or the lot entrance, and the unit may restrict where materials are stored. Where weapons, vehicles or electronics are kept, interior protection over the work area is more than a courtesy. We lay protection ahead of tear-off, check it at every shift change and keep a written daily record that the unit can read.
A 1932 Armory Now Used for the Arts
Pasadena shows how long an armory outlives its first purpose. The California National Guard armory in Old Pasadena, two blocks north of Colorado Boulevard in Old Pasadena, was built in 1932 and now houses the Armory Center for the Arts. Its roof now has a different job from the one it was built for: protecting an arts center instead of a drill floor.
That change matters for roofing decisions. Older public buildings carry details that cannot be copied from a modern catalog, and Pasadena's permit center enforces the Historical Building Code alongside the standard codes, so an owner should ask early which rules apply. We start with a survey to learn the roof layers, the condition of the parapets and the location of any trapped moisture, and a built-up roof that has aged well may be repaired instead of removed.
Armories and Aircraft Space at Los Alamitos
Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos lies roughly 33 miles from Pasadena to the southeast, and it shows how many building types a Guard installation holds. It covers about 1,400 acres, has more than 160 buildings and roughly 1.5 million square feet, and includes armories, hangar facilities and aircraft aprons. It is also the home of the 40th Infantry Division headquarters and an aviation company of the 140th Aviation Regiment, with more than 45 tenant organizations sharing the site.
That variety means a range of spans and roof types on one site, from armory halls to hangar facilities, and the roofing method is chosen for each building's use. We repair and install the systems each one needs, and we group work by building type so a crew with the right tools and material handles several roofs of a kind. A hangar roof is its own specialty, since the span, the edge and the doors set different demands from an armory, and military hangar and maintenance facility roofing is planned with that in mind.
Summer Heat Inside Big Rooms
A drill hall is a large volume under a flat roof, and in a Pasadena summer it holds heat. Pasadena has hit 113 F in June, and a hall that has soaked up a summer of that heat does not cool off quickly. A reflective surface keeps the deck cooler and lightens the cooling load on the hall. Under the city permit process, the state's 2025 energy rules call for a reflective low-slope roof, rated at 0.63 aged reflectance with 0.75 emittance or an SRI of 75, once a reroof or alteration covers more than half the roof or 2,000 square feet, whichever is smaller.
We plan reroofs with that rule in mind, through a white cool roof membrane or a reflective coating over a sound existing system, and we confirm what applies to each building before choosing. Edge metal and parapet caps are re-formed at the same time, because that is the cheapest moment to do it. For a hall that sits under a metal roof, vents and fasteners are checked for the same heat cycling that loosens a membrane.
Commercial Roofing Questions
Why do armory parapets leak even when the membrane looks fine?
Because the weak point is the wall, not the field. Cap joints open as the metal expands, and the counterflashing loses its seal in the reglet. Water enters behind the flashing and travels down the wall. We rebuild the cap and flashing and leave the sound membrane alone.
Can a roof be repaired while a unit holds a drill weekend?
Not usually on the same building. Weekday shifts take the loud work, and each phase ends watertight before drill begins. If a hall is occupied that weekend, we hold that section for a later window or keep the crew to a quiet area.
What changes when an armory becomes a public arts or community building?
The roof now covers visitors, displays and classrooms. A leak costs more than it did over a drill floor, and permit rules may apply differently. We survey the roof, review the parts of the code that touch the work and recommend a repair or a full system.
How big is the cost difference between a repair and a full reroof on a drill hall?
It tracks the condition of the insulation and deck more than the size of the hall. A dry, well-bonded membrane with sound walls needs detail work, which is a smaller project. Wet insulation or a sagging deck pushes toward replacement.
Will the Energy Code force a white roof on an older armory?
Where the city permit process applies, a replacement or a large alteration triggers the reflectance requirement. A smaller repair does not. We compare the roof area against the thresholds before proposing anything.
