Aviation Roofing on Burlington's Schedule, Not the Contractor's
An airport never really stops, and that single fact reshapes everything about roofing one. Burlington International Airport (BTV) in South Burlington is Vermont's primary commercial airport, with American, Delta, United, and JetBlue service, and it shares the field with the Vermont Air National Guard's F-35 operation — one of the first ANG bases to fly the aircraft. Between scheduled passenger flights, cargo movements, and military activity, there is no quiet week to take a roof apart. Every access point, material lift, and crew deployment has to be coordinated with the airport's facilities team, the FAA Part 139 safety program, and in places TSA security. We build that coordination into the scope before the contract is signed rather than discovering the constraints after mobilization.
Big Roofs, Big Wind, Near-Zero Tolerance for Ponding
Terminal and hangar roofs are large, low-slope expanses, and large flat roofs concentrate two problems. First, drainage: with minimal slope across a wide area, water has a long way to travel, and ponding tolerance is essentially zero — a low spot that would be a nuisance on a small store becomes standing water and accelerated membrane failure on a terminal. We design drainage and, where needed, tapered insulation to move water decisively off the roof. Second, wind: an airfield is an exposed site, and northern Vermont adds serious winter design loads on top of that. Membrane attachment, edge metal, and any ballast have to be specified for high uplift, well beyond what a sheltered building of the same size would need.
Jet Blast and Airside Exposure
Roofs on or near the airside face a force that ordinary commercial buildings never see: jet blast and prop wash. The exhaust from a taxiing or running aircraft exerts pressures that will lift an inadequately attached membrane or peel back edge metal that would hold fine anywhere else. Airside roofs need adhesion and securement specified for that exposure, with particular attention to perimeter and corner zones where uplift is highest. We spec these systems for the real conditions of the apron, not for a generic logistics building.
Dense, Heavy Mechanical Systems
Terminals carry far denser and heavier HVAC than typical commercial buildings — large air handlers to condition the concourses, plus the exhaust and make-up air for food service, baggage, and back-of-house spaces. That means many curbed penetrations, oversized equipment curbs, and more flashing transitions to keep watertight. Our pre-project survey documents every penetration, curb height, and clearance before we develop the work plan, and we engineer flashing for oversized and complex curbs individually instead of forcing standard details onto equipment they were never meant to fit.
Working While the Airport Operates
Roofing an active terminal means working over and around occupied, secure space 24 hours a day. Crane lifts and material deliveries are scheduled into approved windows and, where required, coordinated through the FAA NOTAM process. Crew members do not set foot in secure or airside areas without confirmed badging — that is a baseline we enforce, not a courtesy we ask for. We phase the work so passenger areas stay protected and dry through every shift, and we confirm watertight dry-in before each operational peak, because a leak into a concourse or a baggage system during a travel rush is not an option.
Hangars and General Aviation
The aviation market around Burlington extends well beyond the terminal: FBO hangars, aircraft maintenance buildings, the Guard's maintenance complex, and cargo facilities. High-bay hangars built on pre-engineered metal or wide-flange steel framing have wide clear-span roofs that demand specific fastening patterns and seam geometry to handle the wind uplift and thermal movement these large, exposed structures generate. For those buildings, standing seam metal is frequently the right specification. We install both single-ply and metal systems on aviation structures and match the system to the building rather than the other way around.
Aviation-Adjacent Buildings
Rental-car centers, cargo terminals, airport hotels, and support offices on or near the campus each present their own roofing challenges, but the airport-coordination requirement does not disappear just because a building is not the main terminal. Our crews treat badging and security access at any part of an airport campus as non-negotiable and plan for it from the first site visit.
Winter Operations and Snow-and-Ice Loading
A northern Vermont airport has to keep operating through heavy winter weather, and that puts unusual demands on the roof. Snow accumulates across the wide flat expanses of a terminal or hangar, and drifting concentrates weight against parapets, equipment screens, and the step-downs between roof levels. Meltwater and refreezing drive ice damming at the perimeter, and any drain that backs up on a large low-slope roof ponds a lot of water fast. We design drainage and overflow capacity for a real Vermont snow event, detail the high-low transitions where drifting piles up, and specify edge and termination details that hold through repeated freeze-thaw. Because the airport cannot simply close while we work, winter readiness is part of how we sequence and protect the roof, not an afterthought.
Long Roofs, Long Drainage Runs, and Tapered Insulation
The sheer size of terminal and hangar roofs means water often has to travel a long way to reach a drain. On a roof that large, even a slight construction tolerance or a settled deck can create a low spot that holds water and shortens membrane life. Where the existing structure does not slope adequately, we use tapered insulation to build positive drainage into the assembly and direct water to drains and scuppers decisively. Crickets and saddles between drains and behind large equipment curbs keep water from stalling in the flat areas around the densest mechanical clusters. On an airfield roof, where ponding tolerance is effectively zero, getting the slope and the drainage path right is as important as the membrane itself.
Reliever and Regional Fields Serving the Area
Travelers and operators in the Burlington area also use surrounding fields, and we work on aviation structures across the region:
- Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG) — a secondary commercial option across Lake Champlain in New York.
- Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport (RUT) — general aviation in central Vermont.
- Morrisville-Stowe State Airport (MVL) — general aviation serving the Stowe and Lamoille County area.
What an Aviation Roof Review Covers
- Drainage and ponding analysis on large low-slope terminal and hangar roofs
- Wind-uplift and jet-blast securement specification for exposed and airside roofs
- Full survey of dense terminal HVAC, oversized curbs, and complex penetrations
- A phased plan coordinated with airport facilities, FAA Part 139, and security/badging
- Long-span fastening and seam design for high-bay hangars and metal systems
- Vermont winter design loads built into the system specification
If you are responsible for a terminal, hangar, cargo building, or other aviation facility at Burlington International Airport or a regional field, we will walk the roof with your facilities engineer and develop a plan that respects both the structure and the operation. Call 802-744-0749 to arrange a coordinated review.