As the state of Iowa’s largest school district, Des Moines Public Schools is home to 32,582 students spanning 60 school buildings. Today, the district is a leader and innovator in public education, offering families with more educational choices than any place in Iowa and striving to be the nation’s model for urban education. The district is also a transformational leader in environmental stewardship – diligently implementing energy conservation and recycling strategies to optimize limited resources.

In 2012, the district’s design consultant recommended consideration of an alternative approach to re-roofing – pressure equalization technology. At Merrill Middle School a traditional roof was specified with a WindSmart roof as an alternate bid (option). The bid results demonstrated that the pressure equalization technology reduced re-roof costs by $201,722 or 38%. In addition, it is estimated that up to 200,000 lbs. of waste stream were eliminated while recycling the majority of existing insulation materials. The final portion of the pilot project was achieved in 2016 when the roof was cored (sampled) to verify that previous roof moisture had been removed. Using the original infrared mapping, the consultant, applicator and district verified that even the most wet areas had achieved a state of being moisture mitigated or dry.

To date, five additional projects have been successfully implemented, including Brody Middle School, Walnut Street School, Central Academy, East High School Gymnasium and McKee Elementary. Each facility installed moisture mitigation capabilities allowing DMPS to recover and recycle existing insulation materials – eliminating the wasteful environmental practice of premature tear off. Such roofs are more cost effective, highly weather resistance and environmentally friendly.

These new roof assemblies are designed and installed to achieve:

• Code compliance with high wind uplift resistance
• Longevity through continual moisture mitigation
• A high level of environmental stewardship by avoiding roof “tear-off”

Location:

Des Moines, IA

Owner:

Des Moines Public Schools

Architect:

Angelo Architectural Associates

Roofing Contractor:

WindSmart Approved Applicator

Square Footage:

400,000+ sq. ft.

Materials:

60-Mil Thermoplastic Membrane

Year Completed:

6 projects since 2012