School Roofing

Design

Any public building needs to have pre-approved architectural plans laid out before the onset of construction. The design of the building and the roof itself are often done by those without a lot of experience in the field of roofing. While they may understand the basic principles of structure and support, the details of the design are often missing. This is a critical point, because without guidelines for how things like overlapping materials or transitions between one material to the next are handled, those doing the construction are often left to make the decisions themselves. Depending on the roofing contractor and those working for him, this discretion to alter or manipulate the design of the roof may or may not be a good thing.

The Politics of Pricing

Never let it be said that the highest bidder on a public contract is always the winner. In fact, more often than not, it is the exact opposite. Tax payers want to save money, so the lowest bid often gets the contract. This would be a fine system if the lowest bidder was also the most skilled at the job. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. The lowest bidder often gets away with low bids by hiring those who are not as skilled to cut down on costs. This is not always the case, but frequently is. The politics of pricing demand that public entities look first at the estimates of the bids and make their decisions from there. While it may seem better for the bottom line in terms of the building's construction or re-roofing project, in the long run, a shoddy job will result in more costly repairs to not only the roof's exterior, but also potentially to the interior of the school itself.

Construction

As previously mentioned, contractors who are awarded roofing construction contracts may not be the most skilled ones for the job. Limited knowledge of how to transition materials and properly seal off seams and points of intersection can severely weaken the roof's structure and durability. Finding a highly experienced roofer with a strong background in school roof construction may be more expensive, but when the job is done correctly it saves on lost time in the classroom and costly roof repairs. A thorough interview of each contractor should be done before selecting one based on price alone. School roofs have a variety of challenges that other buildings may not have. The transition from one flat roof to the next and the challenges of dealing with unusual angles for newer building additions, require someone highly skilled for the job. Once school boards stop looking at the lowest bidder as the only option, they will find that their school buildings may have fewer roofing problems over time.