Restoration System Saves Waste - And Preserves Budget

East Lyme, Connecticut is a community in southeastern Connecticut on the shores of Long Island Sound. As a small, scenic town, the team responsible for managing facilities for the East Lyme School District understand that their residents place a priority on good sustainable building practices, as well as sound budgeting for building projects. As the building materials industry transitions to greener solutions, these two objectives can appear to be in opposition. But as Jeremy Cogdill, Garland’s Territory Manager for Connecticut, would demonstrate, sustainable solutions can also be the best solution from a financial standpoint, delivering near-term budget benefits and long-term total cost of ownership.

Project: East Lyme School District
Location: East Lyme, CT
Garland Territory Manager: Jeremy Cogdill
Materials Used: LiquiTec

"It was time to start thinking about the roof's condition"

As Chris Lund, Director of Facilities for East Lyme Public Schools, put it, “It was time to start thinking about the roof’s condition and future maintenance to extend its life or replace it. There [were] a couple small areas of water infiltration which started to raise questions about future durability.”

The existing roof was a fully-adhered EPDM membrane installed on sloped metal decks. Thinking proactively helped Lund take a more strategic approach to finding the right roofing solution. According to Lund, “The top priority for this project was to maximize the roof’s life at an affordable cost and minimal ongoing maintenance. A secondary priority was to find a system that could be easily completed in phases to accommodate annual budgets and not need to be done all at once like a tear off and replace.”

Lund engaged Garland Territory Manager Jeremy Cogdill to evaluate the existing roof and help build a long-term plan for roofing projects.

Keeping 20 Tons Of Waste Out of a Landfill

Said Cogdill, “Our inspection of the roof found it to be in generally excellent condition and a good candidate for a fluid- applied restoration system. A fluid-applied system met the priorities for East Lyme School District to work in phases, and work within the District’s annual budget, all while creating a leak-free environment. This system also delivered additional sustainability benefits that are great for all of the District’s constituencies.”

Specifically, the Garland LiquiTec system delivered a low-odor, low-VOC installation; a bright, light gray finish to reflect harmful UV rays and reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the building during warmer months as well as heat the building in the cooler months; and the diversion of an estimated 400,000 pounds of construction debris that would have gone to a landfill if East Lyme School District had been moved forward with a complete tear-off and replacement.

Choosing a fluid-applied restoration gave Lund the flexibility needed to schedule the work as well: “Jeremy helped greatly in the development of anticipated project costs and suggested project phasing based on roof conditions, building operating schedules, and anticipated material and contractor availabilities.”

The biggest impact is what we weren't doing

Lund was able to secure funding for the project through East Lyme’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget, an 8-10 year prioritization of major projects for all assets and building systems. While processes and approvals delayed the initial kickoff of the project to the 2022 summer recess, the project since that time has been very successful. Said Lund, “Once the project kicked off, it was completed much more quickly than I anticipated and within budget. We found during the construction that odors were not a concern, and the contractor activities did not disturb the summer programs that were held in the building.”

Cogdill agreed. “It’s great to know that with a fluid-applied restoration, we can deliver a leak-free environment with minimal disruption to normal operations. The biggest impact from a restoration like this isn’t what the roofing contractors are doing, but what they aren’t doing. By not having to tear off the previous EPDM roof, we saved roughly 17-20 tons of waste that would have gone to a landfill. In a community as scenic as East Lyme, that type of positive environmental impact is a huge win.”