The Middlebury Union Middle School in Middlebury, Vermont was strongly in need of a new roof. When district officials ordered the replacement of the old shingle roof with something new, a jobsite manufactured metal roof system from Perth Amboy, NJ’s Englert Inc. was the top choice.

A metal roof specification had been cut during the original construction of the school in 1998 and an inexpensive asphalt roof had been chosen to try and stay within budget, noted building and grounds officials for the school district. “They wanted to cover the roof as cheaply as they could,” said one official. “Trouble is, the school’s roof was originally designed—and angled—to accommodate a metal roof.”

So with the pitch of the roof less than ideal for shingles, and relative low-quality shingles used, the roof deteriorated steadily. The design deficiencies were particularly evident in the winter when the surface allowed for the formation of large chunks of ice above the building’s doorways. The roof also needed to be patched every year between 2008 and 2012 when it was finally replaced.

To remedy its roof problems once and for all the school district engaged VMS Construction of Rutland, Vermont to remove and replace the roof. Selected as the new roof was an Englert Series 1300, Sierra Tan, standing seam metal roof system. As part of the installation, rigid board insulated was added to the gymnasium roof. On that portion of the job the old roof sheathing was removed and replaced with an Englert nailable roofing underlayment. New metal fascia was fabricated by Murphy’s Metals of Middlebury, Vermont and installed by VMS crews around the entire perimeter of the 38,200 square foot building. This project was completed within the required three-month time schedule.

“The roofing company, that installed the standing seam, RTD Roofing of Madison, Maine, was excellent,” noted Frederick Laramie, project manager for VMS. “We worked extremely well together installing the fascia and the drip edge to achieve a nice smooth finish without any oil canning or other issues. In fact, one of the reasons we were able to complete the job well within the three-month schedule was the extraordinary cooperation of the architect, TruexCullins of Burlington, the owners of the building and the roofing installer,” said Laramie.

And while the on-time, successful completion of the roof was the key consideration, there were other smaller factors that deserved attention during construction. “When you’re using forklifts and removing old shingle roof material, you have to be very cognizant of preserving the integrity of the building and the worksite as well,” said the VMS  project manager. “You have to be very careful to protect the brick veneer of the building, the landscaping around the structure as well as windows and window screens. And because we were removing material that had been nailed down, we made two passes around the building with magnets to make sure no nails were left on the school grounds.”