Cornices, Masonry and Hand-Formed Metal
The Civic Center's older buildings date to the 1920s and 1930s, and wherever one of those Renaissance or Mediterranean buildings has a cornice, parapet or stone detail at the roofline, the metal that bridges roof and wall has to be shaped to the surface in front of it: counterflashing set into a reglet, coping bent to the profile of the cap and corners hand-formed to follow the stone. Stock components never quite fit, and the gaps they leave become the leak paths.
On a landmark, new metal is judged from the sidewalk, and it should look as though it has always been there. We keep fasteners off visible faces, match profiles and finishes, and cut reglets into mortar joints, not the stone. The same discipline runs through flashing failure repair on any masonry wall, and it is the standard we bring to government building roofing.
Hall Roofs and Event Calendars
Built in 1931 , the Pasadena Convention Center has three buildings, among them a Civic Auditorium of 2,997 seats and an exhibition building of 50,000 square feet. Roofs over large rooms like these span long distances with few interruptions, so one failed seam or clogged drain can put water into a space where an audience sits. The work has to follow the event calendar: dry-in before a show load-in, no tear-off while a hall is booked and noisy tasks moved to open dates and nights.
Planning starts with the venue's booking schedule and the access routes: which doors the crew may use, where a lift can stand and which loading areas stay free. We divide the roof into phases that each finish watertight, so an early move-in does not find an open roof. A roof condition report with photographs from the first survey gives a public venue the written scope it needs.
Homes and Shops in One Development
Paseo Colorado, a $200 million mixed-use project that opened in October 2001 across three downtown blocks, put 600,000 square feet or so of commercial space and close to 400 residences into one development. Roofs on buildings like that answer to two audiences: shoppers and restaurants, and residents who notice every noise, odor and morning delay. Each use brings its own vents and exhausts, so the penetrations multiply and each one has to be flashed on its own terms.
We schedule loud work for hours when residents are out, tell the property manager exactly which units sit below each phase, and keep dust and fumes away from balconies and intakes. A fall drain cleaning and a spring look at the sealants keep these roofs predictable. The same two-audience planning applies to apartment roofing and shopping center roofing, and the habit of phasing work carries into the brick storefront blocks of Old Pasadena and the restaurants and retailers of the Playhouse District.
Permits for Historic and Existing Buildings
Pasadena's permit center lists the 2025 California Building, Existing Building and Historical Building codes among those it enforces from January 1, 2026, with local amendments in Title 14 of the Municipal Code. On a 1930s civic building, the Historical Building Code exists to accommodate old fabric, while the Existing Building Code governs alterations, so a roof scope that touches a parapet or adds equipment needs the right code path chosen early. Pasadena writes its local amendments jointly with the county's other 89 jurisdictions through the Los Angeles Regional Uniform Code Program, and for 2025 that program put forward no new technical changes to the building code. For a public agency budgeting several roofs at once, that means the scope is driven by the state codes and by the condition of each building, not by a fresh set of local rules.
Commercial Roofing Questions
How do you find a leak when the roof is covered in pavers and planters?
By narrowing the search before lifting anything. Moisture mapping and controlled water tests isolate the zone, the drainage plan shows where water should travel, and only the pavers or planters over the suspect detail come up. Everything else stays in place.
Do historic civic buildings need different flashing than modern offices?
The principles are the same, but the metal has to be formed to the stone, cornice or parapet it meets instead of chosen from a catalog. Fasteners stay off visible faces, profiles are matched, and reglets are cut into mortar joints so the masonry is not damaged.
How is a convention or auditorium building roofed around its events?
It begins with the booking calendar. Roof sections are sized so each one finishes watertight before the next show, loud work moves to open dates and nights, and the access routes are agreed with venue staff before any equipment arrives.
What should a mixed-use owner tell residents before roof work starts?
Which days noise is expected, which units sit below each phase and who to call about odors or access. A short notice with a map of the work areas prevents most complaints, and a property manager can pass it along easily.
Which building code applies when the roof of a 1930s building is altered?
That comes down to the scope. A repair confined to existing materials follows one path, while a partial replacement or new equipment moves it toward the Existing Building Code, with the Historical Building Code available for qualifying structures. We read the permit set before pricing so the roof assembly matches what the plan reviewer will ask for.
