Roofing Project Management...

Managing Roofing Projects To Minimize Disruption

Types of Job: Reroofing

Type of Structure:

Various School Buildings
Lower Merion School District, PA


Roofing Consultant:

ARCON, Inc.
Wilmington, DE


Contractor:

United States Roofing Corporation
Norristown, PA


Garland Product:

StressPly "E" Mineral FR modified bitumen roofing system with HPR Glass Base in WeatherKing cold-applied adhesive


Garland Representative: Don Thompson


An aerial photograph of the Lower Merion School District High School hangs in the office of the district's director of operations as a perpetual reminder that school boards do not have to sacrifice environmental and safety concerns in order to achieve long-term, high-performance roofing solutions.

A few years back, in anticipation of a major capital program, the district began searching for roofing solutions. According to Joe Kelly, construction foreman, who has served the Lower Merion School District in various capacities for 27 years, the district called upon Don Thompson for assistance, early in the planning process.

Thompson, a consultant representing The Garland Company, a Cleveland-based manufacturer of high-performance roofing products, had been servicing the district's existing roofs for nearly ten years, and was intimately acquainted with the recurrent failures of its aging, EPDM roofs.

With Thompson's encouragement, the district hired an independent roofing consultant, ARCON, Inc., headquartered in Virginia, with offices in nearby Wilmington, DE, to conduct in-depth surveys. Working closely with district management, ARCON helped to define and rank specific roofing requirements and to develop detailed specifications.

With the district's mandate in mind, that "the first priority of everyone concerned must be the health and safety of our students and the surrounding community," Thompson recommended Garland StressPly "E" Mineral FR modified bitumen roofing system, with an HPR Glass Base, cold-applied in WeatherKing adhesive.

Thompson recalls, "Most of the district's roofs were ten to 25 years old and nearly 90% of them were single-ply EPDM. Some were in really bad shape, and our biggest concern was restricting odor, in case the reroofing jobs scheduled for the summer ran over into the school term."

Kelly and Claude Matson, the district's director of operations, readily agreed that the cold-adhesive process was the right solution. Aside from environmental and safety advantages, Kelly "really liked the density and firmness of the Garland membrane."

According to Kelly, the aging EPDM membranes and the flashings on the parapet walls were badly deteriorating from the sun. In addition, frequent HVAC rooftop maintenance had created tears in the old roofing. He explains, "When Don recommended putting StressPly up under the flashings and covering the coping with metal caps, it was clear this would be a much better way to finish off a roof and solve our flashing problems. The stronger material will take a beating, and I would defy anyone to put a hole in it, except by deliberate vandalism."

Acknowledging the performance advantages of the Garland system, Thompson is eager to share credit for the project's success with contractor United States Roofing Corporation, of Norristown, PA, and their superintendent, Ken Baker. Kelly agrees, noting, "The director of the capital program held several meetings with the contractor, the principals, and the teachers to address their health and safety concerns. Garland provided all the MSDS sheets up front, and U.S. Roofing staged their work very carefully, working within fenced areas, and leaving no debris on site."

Recently chosen as Roofing Contractor of the Year by Roofing Contractor magazine, U.S. Roofing has an excellent track record in the Philadelphia market, according to ARCON vice president and owner, Cliff Conover. He explains, "U.S. Roofing had extensive experience with this type of roofing assembly. Their careful staging, so as not to interfere with the operation of the school, and the techniques they employed to minimize disruption, played a major role in our success."

In addition to the careful supervision provided by Garland, school district management, and a representative of the capital program staff, ARCON senior consultant, Michael Page, provided an independent review of every aspect of the installation. Says Matson, "As specialists in their field, ARCON brought a good deal of knowledge to this project, not only by writing the specifications, but by watching the installation to see that the specifications were met."

According to Dave Farragut, president of U.S. Roofing, the school district "put together a pretty strict group that placed some great restrictions on us as contractor . . . A lot of companies might not like the full-time independent supervision that went with this job, but we've learned through experience that if there's a problem, it's a lot less costly to deal with it right away."

He continues, "I think the biggest thing we contributed was our sensitivity to odor, noise, and time restraints imposed by the school . . . The finished job not only looks good, the white mineral surface reflects the heat. These roofs -- with three layers of membrane and six layers of adhesive -- are going to last a long time."

Acknowledging the stringency of the district's requirements, Kelly and Matson believe that their success to date has been largely attributable to the technical expertise of the team members and the open communications between school management, their consultants, the roofing system manufacturer, and the contractor. Says Kelly, "You have to be open with your people when you're doing this kind of work, so they know what to expect."

Four of ten reroofing projects scheduled for the district were completed by winter of 1998; the remaining projects are scheduled for completion before 2003.