THE BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY
Pratt Museum is more than a place to store objects and artifacts. At the Pratt Museum art, science and culture come together in an integrated approach to topics and stories relevant to the Kachemak Bay area – from traditional culture to the environment. In addition to being a place of preservation/conservation, sharing, and learning, Pratt Museum serves as a community gathering place, a place for enjoying and connecting people of all ages and backgrounds. Pratt Museum is devoted to developing partnerships with people, communities, and entities that have meaningful connections to Homer. Our overall vision is to link the Museum’s collections, which include themes of homesteading and the history of settlement, fishing, native cultures, environment, art, and our shared ties to the northern marine environment that connect us all. Our place is fertile for exploring who we are and where we live so that we may preserve our distinctive cultural traditions and environment with integrity, and preserve this knowledge for our community and museum visitors alike. Homer is the economic, education, health care, and cultural hub in the area, and it is one of the most important maritime harbors in the state. With a diverse economy of commercial fishing, tourism, and government sectors being the most prominent, Homer is home to a robust creative community, whereby Pratt Museum is a conduit to preserve and share the human story of the region.
THE NEED
Alaska’s challenging weather conditions not only impact the cost to operate, but these challenges also exacerbate structural deficiencies. Due to these challenges, Pratt Museum roof has deteriorated to the extreme that each gallery has multiple buckets and at times water splashes on the objects and artifacts. Leaks also occur over the elevator which impacts use, and in office spaces where computers and technology are located. Even the simple care of the roof during the winter is a safety issue. The roof needs to be hand-shoveled. While no major injury has occurred, it is only a matter of time before someone will get injured. With cracked beams, leaks throughout, and hazardous work conditions for staff, the Pratt Museum roof needs to be replaced. This has been a long-standing issue dating back to 2007. The roof can no longer be kicked down the road. This is a HEALTH AND HUMAN SAFETY issue.
THE SOLUTION
After carefully examining the roof and site, Roof Construction Services, Inc. and Schneider Structural Engineers determined a full roof replacement is necessary. Pratt Museum roof replacement project consists of approximately 9,143 +/- square feet of roof removal and replacement with new insulation and new modified membrane roofing systems with all related flashing and sheet metal work. This project consists of the complete removal of the granular surfaced modified built-up roof system, all insulations and underlying plywood, flashings, and trim metals, and the installation of a new 3-ply modified membrane roof system including new base sheet installed over a new 3/8-inch plywood substrate installed over the original Tongue & Groove wood roof deck, new high thermal insulation, new perimeter edge metal detailing, new gutters and downspouts and all associated accessories. The goal is to replace the roof during the 2025 building season.