Reforming education

• Photo courtesy of Canonsburg, Pa.-based Centimark Corp.'s Phoenix office.
• Photo courtesy of Canonsburg, Pa.-based Centimark Corp.'s Phoenix office.
• Photo courtesy of Canonsburg, Pa.-based Centimark Corp.'s Phoenix office.
• Photo courtesy of Canonsburg, Pa.-based Centimark Corp.'s Phoenix office.

Education reform is bound to be a popular topic during 2004, a presidential election year. Democratic presidential candidates will debate their plans to improve the U.S. education system while President Bush touts his efforts related to the No Child Left Behind Act.

Many school districts and private institutions also are trying to revolutionize education by creating different campus atmospheres and more rigorous courses. The Deer Valley Unified School District in Arizona took a different spin on education and created High School No. 5 in Anthem, Ariz., a school designed around a smaller learning community.

The high school, which officially will be named by parents and community members before it opens to freshmen and sophomores in August, will divide students into eight houses, or clusters. Students mainly will attend classes within their individual houses—each house will have computer and science labs—but teachers will be encouraged to collaborate with other clusters. By 2006, the school will host grades nine through 12 with at least 2,000 students.

This grouping concept, also called a school within a school, commonly is used in middle schools. Recently, larger high schools began using the concept to help students feel more connected to their classmates. And though other high schools group students, High School No. 5 is among the few institutions specifically designed for clusters.

The campus features several buildings on 55 acres (0.22 km²) of land. Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Del Webb Corp., a homebuilding company that has developed many communities in the West, donated 45 acres (0.18 km²) of land, and the school district bought an additional 10 acres (0.04 km²). The $35 million school is being financed with state funds and bonds. In addition, a partnership with Maricopa County, Ariz., allowed a 25,000-square-foot (2323-m²) library to be built on campus; the library will be open to the public.

The high school is part of master-planned communities Del Webb created in Anthem (the company developed the Anthem Country Club and Anthem Parkside Community). According to Rick Fennemore, senior project manager for Canonsburg, Pa.-based Centimark Corp.'s Phoenix office, the school needed to be part of Anthem's new look.

Centimark worked with the architect during the design phase and was invited to bid on the project by the general contractor. Centimark was asked to provide long-lasting roof systems that were easily and economically sustainable. The roof systems' aesthetic appeal also had to be considered because the school sits along Interstate 17, which leads to the Grand Canyon.

"There is a rise in the interstate just south of the school, and the first thing noticed [from the rise] is the school's roof line," Fennemore explains. "The roofs had to look like they belonged to the buildings—almost like sculptures."

Fennemore adds, "And they do."

The roof systems had to provide an R-40 insulation value, as well as quickly dry in the building to keep pace with the rest of the construction. The roof systems also had to be minimum one-hour-rated assemblies.

To meet these and other requirements, Centimark decided to install spray polyurethane foam (SPF) roof systems.

SPF work

Roofing work began in October 2003 and is expected to be finished in March. (Although most of the work is complete, the project will continue into March because of steel-erector delays.) Centimark worked on nine buildings ranging from a 1,200-square-foot (111-m²) snack bar to a 120,000-square-foot (11148-m²) athletic building. The total project size is more than 239,000 square feet (22303 m²).

Two spray foam application crews consisting of three workers each and a four-person coating crew worked on the project. Another crew of five workers installed gypsum board. To keep workers safe, Centimark ensured stringent safety procedures were followed. Warning flags were used at roof perimeters with parapet heights less than 39 inches (991 mm). When working outside warning-line areas, workers were tied-off.

Over metal decks (Type B) where one-hour-rated roof areas are required, 5/8-inch (16-mm) gypsum board was installed. All other areas were prepared by taping the metal deck's flutes and applying at least 5 inches (127 mm) of Foam Enterprises' 303 Series foam in five lifts. The specification called for lifts of 1/2-inch (13-mm) minimum and 1-inch (25-mm) maximum.

An acrylic base coat then was applied for the dry-in phase. After other trades finished their work on the roofs, an acrylic coating was applied, and a 1/4-inch (6-mm) aggregate was broadcast into the wet acrylic coating. After the aggregate coating cured, a 1/8- to 1/4-inch- (3- to 6-mm-) thick layer of OmniGuard Cementitious Coating was applied.

Fennemore adds: "The cementitious coating provides tremendous impact resistance and protection from foot traffic. There also is about zero ultraviolet deterioration of cement. [The coating] is similar to plaster on a pool but has polymers added for some flexibility and to bind cement. We use a larger 1/4-inch (6-mm) aggregate to act as a 'lath.' The product is exclusive to the Southwest because it does somewhat craze and is subject to freeze-thaw cycles. Crazing has no effect because [the coating] is not waterproofing."

The most challenging application areas were around crickets; some crickets were 19 inches (483 mm) thick. Spraying foam this thick increases the chance for blisters.

Fennemore says, "To prevent blisters, we watched [the foam's] temperature so as not to create too much heat inside the crickets."

The workers also took their time.

"We sprayed a little and waited," he explains. "We sprayed a little more and waited."

A skylight array in the administration building also required special attention.

"The area around the skylights had to be sculpted with foam to provide a clean transition and drainage," Fennemore notes.

An additional challenge was the nonstop breeze common in the high desert. Roofing workers dealt with the wind by doing what they did when addressing other challenges—taking their time. Fennemore is proud to report nothing was oversprayed and not one blister occurred.

Satisfaction

High School No. 5's objective is to become a center for intellectual growth where students achieve academic success, as well as social and emotional growth. The campus's well-thought-out, intimate design may help achieve the objective.

"This probably sounds corny, but the most satisfying part of the job was delivering what we promised ahead of schedule," Fennemore admits.

"I have to give credit to the crews," he continues. "They really carried the job through."

Kate Gawlik is associate editor of Professional Roofing magazine.

Project name: High School No. 5
Location: Anthem, Ariz.
Project duration: October 2003-March 2004
Roof system type: Spray polyurethane foam
Roofing contractor: Canonsburg, Pa.-based Centimark Corp.'s Phoenix office
Roofing manufacturer: Foam Enterprises Inc., Minneapolis
Architect: DLR Group, Phoenix
General contractor: W.E. O'Neil Construction Co., Phoenix