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Shouting from the rooftop
BCHS construction on schedule for roof replacement
BY CHARLES GARRATT • STAFF WRITER
 | | Workers bundled against the early morning cold install insulation along the fascia of the new gym section of Bath County High School Wednesday morning. Replacing the entire roof of all sections of the high school building is part of the renovation project started last summer. Roofing is projected to be substantially complete by Tuesday. (Recorder photo by Charles Garratt) |
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WARM SPRINGS - Last Thursday's meeting of the Bath County School Board might have set a record as the shortest in recent memory had it not been for a lengthy presentation about the roof on Bath County High School.
The board held its meeting at that time to avoid scheduling conflicts with a number of board members. Even with the meeting adjustment, members Barbara Waldeck and Kaye May were absent.
The majority of the two hours featured a presentation by Jeff Spadey, roofing consultant for the Bath County High School renovation under way. Spadey showed photos of the old roof systems on the various sections of the building, some of the problems discovered during renovations and explained the new roof systems being installed.
Spadey told the board the roofing contractor, Roofing & Restoration, will substantially complete the roof on the entire building complex by Nov. 6, six days late based on the contract. Some punch-list and other small items will remain to be completed after that date, he said.
On Wednesday, superintendent Dr. David Smith confirmed the contractor remains on target for that date. Crews were busy installing insulation and fascia material on the north end of the building in the cold air Wednesday morning.
After the presentation, member Eddie Ryder said, "It makes me sick to see this new roof we put on has to be torn off." Ryder chaired the meeting and was on the board when the new gym and auditorium addition were added in the early 1990s.
Spadey showed photos of the original standing seam roof installed over the gym and auditorium and pointed out problems with the installation. He passed around metal clips used to secure the old panels and later compared them to the floating style clips being used on the new roof, also a standing seam metal roof.
"The panels were sliding down," Spadey said. In the photos the slipping panels could clearly be seen making a stair-stepped lower edge as they had moved down slope by various amounts. This slippage, Spadey said, created a gap at the peak of the roof where water could enter.
The only way to find the leaks, Spadey said, was to remove the roof. Water entering at the top flowed down under the roof panels emerging at various places over the ceiling in the building below. The clips used to secure the panels had come loose, possibly from faulty installation, and could only be fixed by removing the roof.
On the sections of the building already covered by standing seam metal roofing, the contractor is removing and replacing the old panels with new metal roofing. The new roof includes enlarged downspouts, an improved floating attachment system, intermediate ribs and increased insulation, Spadey told the board.
Spadey said the multiple types of roof, the lack of maintenance and in some cases bad repairs had created a "rather unique challenge for everyone." Two different kinds of roofing systems were used on the low-slope or "flat" roof portions of the buildings.
Puddles and stained areas where water stood during wet weather were clearly evident in the photos Spadey showed. In addition numerous holes were obvious along with damage to the roof structure caused by shrinking membranes.
"There were holes, even holes in patches," Spadey illustrated with his pictures. Some repairs, he said, had been made using standard hardware store roof patching materials which were not compatible with the type of roofing. And main roofing drains had been partly covered or were undersized for the roof thus backing up water into ponds.
All roof drains are being routed to the external part of the building replacing those that now go down through walls. Drain sizes are being increased along with the number of drains to improve water flow Spadey said.
A polymer modified bituminous membrane roof is being installed on all of the lowslope building sections, Spadey explained. The old roof is first removed, the deck repaired or replaced as necessary and a temporary membrane installed.
The temporary roofing material is left in place as an added layer of protection under the new roof system, Spadey said. Insulation panels are installed under the new membrane to reduce heat loss and lower heating and cooling cost for the building.
Along with the roof itself, the fascia between the roof and the exterior wall is also being removed and replaced. Spadey showed pictures of the different types of structure found under the old fascia, ranging from wood studs to metal studs to concrete blocks. Insulation and metal fascia is being used around the building to replace the existing trim.
Both the membrane roof used on the low-slope sections of the building and the standing seam roof used on the steep roof have a 20-year manufacturer's warranty, Spadey said. Spadey told the board "all roofs require inspection," and suggested the board implement a regular inspection and maintenance program. "They don't care for themselves," Spadey said.
Spadey said current school maintenance personnel should be able to do the inspection and maintenance. Board members pointed to director of maintenance Kirby Mottley and quipped, "There is the maintenance department."
Ryder asked Spadey if there were firms that would inspect and clean the roof on a regular schedule. Spadey said his firm and most roofing contractors could provide the service for a fee. Ryder said the school board should consider adding money to the budget for those services once the renovation project is complete.
The board met at Valley Elementary School. Principal Les Balgavy provided dinner for the board members prior to the public meeting. Ryder joked the school system needs to make sure they don't lose Balgavy, saying he could make three times the money as a chef.
The next regular meeting of the school board will be Tuesday, Dec. 4. A closed session normally begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by the regular public session at 7 p.m. The December meeting will be the last regular meeting for the board elected four years ago. Newly elected members will be sworn in the first of January.
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