Bishop Elementary School Roof Scores an A+ For Sustainability
Located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Bishop Elementary School teaches more than 400 students in the K – 5 grade levels each year. Their excellent teachers and staff need a high-quality environment to maintain an ideal learning environment, which starts with the elementary school building itself.
The Bishop Elementary current roof is decades old and is at the end of its useful lifecycle and was in need of replacement. Originally manufactured out of vinyl by Duro-Last®, Inc., the roof had withstood harsh Michigan winters, intense summer sun, and frequent rainstorms over the years. The administrators at Bishop Elementary that they could depend on vinyl as their next roof to house an ideal learning environment. When the school’s administrators put the project out to bid they had a specific request – the existing roof needed to be recycled by the contractor.
Superior Services RSH, Inc. wrote the winning bid, in large part as we were able to provide the school with a two-fold benefit: reduce the environmental impact of the roof replacement and save money.
“When we proposed this option to the administration and highlighted that not only would they save money in disposal fees, but that they could help also reduce their environmental impact, they were excited to participate,” said Superior Services Vice President Derek Heins.
Recycling the roof was a simple process. Superior Services removed the existing roofing membrane and materials, rolled them onto pallets, and sent the material to a Duro-Last facility. Oscoda Plastics®, Inc., a sister company to Duro-Last, processed the roof membrane, giving it a new life as products such as concrete expansion joints, resilient flooring, and rooftop walkway pads. This not only gave their old roof a new purpose, but saved more than 8,700 pounds of PVC material from being sent to a landfill.
Meanwhile, Superior Services went to work with equipping the building with 50 mil Duro-Tuff® membrane, which was mechanically attached over the roof’s existing insulation, which was still in good condition. Superior Services’ crew of eight was able to complete the project in two weeks. After which, Superior Services presented the Bishop Elementary school with a 20-Year-Warranty for their new roof from Duro-Last.
“The Superior Services team did a phenomenal job on this project, meticulously removing the existing membrane to ensure every bit of material could be recycled,” said Duro-Last’s Sustainability team. “We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for this project, and it’s always rewarding to see the positive environmental impact that can be made by the thoughtful efforts of contractors like Superior Services.”
