Museum roof turning black

Drivers along Byng Street have been watching with keen interest as the roof of the new Orange Regional Museum turned black this week.

The thick black covering is a bituminous membrane which will act as a water-proof lining for the roof which will eventually be covered by lawn.

Orange City Council Museum Community Committee Chair, Cr Neil Jones is delighted to see the latest progress towards the building’s landmark grassed roof.

“With the heat of the last few days, it’s hard to remember the heavy Winter storms which covered the site in snow for days earlier in the year, but this water-proofing is a crucial part of the building,” Cr Neil Jones said.

Rolls of the 3 mm-thick membrane were rolled out over the last week and then heat-sealed to form a water proof barrier. About half of the 1400 square metre roof has been completed and the rest is expected to be in place by the end the coming week.

There’s a walking path along the side of the roof but even that will be water proofed, before its covered in a further concrete layer.

“Once the water proofing is finished, it’s going to be fascinating to watch the next stage, as a ‘bee-hive’ of solid rubber cells linked by cables are installed on top of the membrane,” Cr Jones said. “This is the technology that holds the soil and stops it sliding off the roof. Then it’s the irrigation and drainage pipes before the turf is added.”

In the coming weeks people will be able to see a silver-coloured, vitrobond cladding being added on all the external walls of the building. The glass windows and doors are still some time off.