HOLLYWOOD, Md. (August 04, 2017)—Part of the roof at Piney Point Elementary School is in bad shape. "The deck was severely deteriorated much beyond our expectations and experience," St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) Director of Design and Construction Larry Hartwick told the school board at its July 19 meeting.
The board approved a contract award for the Piney Point Elementary School Roof Replacement to Island Contracting, Incorporated on January 11, 2017, in the amount of $1,091,000. There was also a construction contingency of $150,000. That's not going to be enough to cover the cost of the problems uncovered. The board unanimously approved adding an additional $120,000 to the contingency fund.
According to a memo provided to the board by Hartwick, "The Piney Point Elementary School roof is composed of two roofing deck systems. An addition constructed in 1969 has a poured gypsum deck over a steel form. This section of roof was re-roofed in 1993 over the existing gypsum deck. In 1996, the school was expanded. The original section of the building constructed in 1951 was demolished as part of the 1996 project. The roof deck for the 1996 portion of the building was constructed on a steel deck."
The memo goes on to say: "Prior to commencing the re-roofing over the existing gypsum decks, pull test were performed on the deck to determine if the deck had sufficient strength for the mechanical fasteners required to attach new insulation to the deck. Twenty-one pull tests were performed. Fifteen of the tests were marginal or failed. As work began on the re-roofing of the gypsum deck, the deteriorated condition of the existing gypsum deck became more evident and the extent far greater than anticipated. Gypsum breaks down when water is trapped below the roofing membrane. The steel form is also prone to corrosion under those conditions.
"Repairs to the gypsum deck include the removal of the gypsum from the steel form, cutting out the steel form that is corroded, and span the entire area with new steel decking. To date approximately 2,300 square feet of gypsum deck has been repaired at a unit cost of $16.00 per square foot. Unfortunately, based on additional test cuts, staff estimates that another 11,000 square feet of gypsum deck may need to be repaired as work progresses. Staff estimates that the gypsum deck repairs alone could be in the range of $213,000."
The contractor will lay a steel deck over the badly deteriorated gypsum on that old section of roof. The newest roof section, which has a steel decking will also be replaced on top of that steel.
School board member Jim Davis, who has a construction background, noted that the original 25 percent contingency was high. But, board member Cathy Allen observed that Hartwick advised of the possibility of problems at Piney Point with its old roof. "You did warn us," she said.
Hartwick said the extra work won't delay the completion of the roof project this summer. He said the contractor will put in double crews to get the job done.
Hartwick advised that even with the addition of the $120,000 contingency, the total cost of $1,456,000 is still under the budget for the project.