Board awards bid for roof repair

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The Region 16 Board of Education has approved a $51,575 bid to repair and replace the roof over the art wing at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI
The Region 16 Board of Education has approved a $51,575 bid to repair and replace the roof over the art wing at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI

BEACON FALLS — The Region 16 Board of Education awarded a $51,575 bid last week to a West Hartford company to repair and replace the roof over the art wing at Woodland Regional High School.

The board unanimously approved the bid submitted by Ultimate Construction. The work is expected to be completed in August.

Officials discovered last fall that parts of the roof at the school, which opened in 2001, were in disarray, leaking in spots and will have to be replaced.

According to the roof analysis report, the leaks and deterioration appear to be related to one or more installation errors, such as roofing nails being visible between slots of shingles, or nails that are rusted and loose, allowing water to enter. The statute of limitations on the roof has expired.

The roof over the art wing was in the worst shape, and temporary repairs were done last year.

The board sought bids to replace the roof using asphalt shingles and Sarnafil, a PVC material that looks like metal. The board sided with the asphalt option because it was less expensive. The lowest bid using Sarnafil came in at $115,000.

The $51,575 bid submitted by Ultimate Construction includes a 20-year, 100 percent warranty on the labor. The warranty is then prorated after the 20-year mark up to 50 years.

School districts are eligible to receive their full reimbursement rate for roof projects after the roof is 20 years old. They are eligible for some reimbursement after 15 years as well.
Board member Nazih Noujaim favored the asphalt roof due to the warranty and cost difference.

“I don’t see any reason to go with the Sarnafil,” he said.

Ultimate Construction was the second lowest bidder out of the five. Scholar Painting out of Seymour submitted the lowest bid at $36,320. According to officials, Ultimate Construction was recommended because the company has significantly more experience with roof projects.

The board has set aside $344,191 to repair the entire roof at the school. Voters approved placing $244,191 of surplus funds from the 2012-13 budget into a capital account this year for the work. The remaining $100,000 comes from savings in the 2013-14 budget after the board ended its contract with Cenergistic, an energy consultant.

Since the cost to fix the roof using asphalt shingles was much lower than expected, the board discussed moving forward with fixing the entire roof now.

Originally the plan was to replace just the roof over the art wing now. The board was going to wait three more years to repair the other areas of the roof until it is 15 years old, and the district would be eligible for some reimbursement.

However, cost increases for the work over three years may offset any reimbursement the board would get from the state, David Langdon, supervisor of facilities and maintenance, told the board.

Ultimate Construction provided a quote to do the whole roof that was less than the $344,000 set aside, according to officials.

However, the board wasn’t comfortable moving forward since the bid issued was only for work on the art wing roof. The board decided to go out to bid for the remaining roof work.

Board Chair Donna Cullen said the board doesn’t have to award the work if the bids don’t come back within the funds available.

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