The school needed a new roof when the school
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district ordered the old shingle roof to be replaced with a new 53,000-square-foot standing seam metal roof. The district engaged VMS Construction as its general contractor to remove and replace the roof. The old asphalt shingle system was removed and replaced with a new Englert Series 1300 standing seam metal roof system in Sierra Tan from Englert Inc. Rigid board insulation was also added to the entire gymnasium roof, which included the removal and replacement of the existing roof sheathing with Englert nailable roofing underlayment. New metal fascia was fabricated by Murphy’s Metals and installed by VMS crews around the entire perimeter of the 38,200-squarefoot building. This project was completed within the required three-month time schedule.
A metal roof specification had been cut during the original construction of the school in 1998 and an inexpensive asphalt roof had been chosen to try and stay within budget, noted building and grounds officials for the school district. “They wanted to cover the roof as cheaply as they could,” says one official “but the trouble is,” he notes, “the school’s roof was originally designed, and angled, to accommodate a metal roof.” Consequently, the design of the previous roof was not as steep as practical for an asphalt roof, and the pitch, along with the quality of shingles used, led to steady deterioration of the roof with annual patching required from 2008 to 2012 when the roof was replaced. The prior roof’s shortcomings were particularly evident in the winter, when the surface harbored large chunks of ice that had to be chipped away, especially near the building’s exits.
“The roofing company that installed the standing seam, RTD Roofing, was excellent,” comments Frederick Laramie, project manager for VMS. “We worked extremely well together installing the fascia and the drip edge to achieve a nice smooth finish without any oil canning or other issues. In fact, one of the reasons we were able to complete the job well within the three-month schedule was the extraordinary cooperation of the architect, TruexCullins, the owners of the building and the roofing installer.”
And while the on-time, successful completion of the roof was the key consideration, there were other smaller factors that deserved attention during construction. “When you’re using forklifts and removing old shingle roof material, you have to be very cognizant of preserving the integrity of the building and the worksite as well,” says Laramie. “You have to be very careful to protect the brick veneer of the building, the landscaping around the structure, as well as windows and window screens. And because we were removing material that had been nailed down, we made two passes around the building with magnets to make sure no nails were left on the school grounds.”
General contractor: VMS Construction, Rutland, Vt.
Architect: TruexCullins, Burlington, Vt.
Installer: RTD Roofing, Madison, Maine
Metal roof panels: Englert Inc., Perth Amboy, N.J., www.englertinc.com
