Faced with a list of maintenance issues across the division that will take years to address at current funding levels, Living Sky School Division Facilities Manager Brian Bossaer embarked on a quest earlier this year to find an "out of the box" solution.
He's hit a snag, but he got the go ahead from the school division board Wednesday evening to continue the research into using spray foam to fix Living Sky's leaky roofs for as little as 20 per cent of the cost of traditional roofing.
Using Hafford School as a test case, Bossaer told board members the project was originally estimated to cost $688,000 to do the entire roof, not just the worst sections. But when it went to tender, although three firms had been on site to consider the project, only one bid came in - and it was for $1.728 million.
"That is way more than traditional roofing," he said.
Bossaer found himself asking, "How can that be, because spray foam is so cheap?"
He said the over-the-top figure indicates spray foam contractors can't be expected to bid effectively on a project so far outside their scope of expertise. He suggested the next step is to see if general contractors would be interested in bidding, subcontracting out the spray foam application just as they would the other trades such as plumbing and electrical.
Much of what needs to be done is general labour plus carpentry work for parapets and curbs.
"That's all standard work they do," said Bossaer. "The only thing out of their scope is applying the spray foam."
Typically, he said, general contractors pass on traditional roofing jobs.
"But we think generals will be interested in this. It will open up something they don't usually touch - the roof."
Bossaer has been in touch with a general contractor locally and the division's roofing consultant is also approaching a few general contractors, he said.
"Basically, we'll proceed from there," he told the board. "We'd be willing to look at it and do it again."
Bossaer doesn't want the unexpected result of the recent tender to knock spray foam off the table.
"Before I walk away, I want to study what's wrong," he said. "Nobody's done this."
He said people are watching and waiting on the outcome of Living Sky's pilot spray foam project, including health care districts and other school divisions.
"I think I want to explore this deeper," he said. "We have time. [Hafford] is in the budget, we have lots of time to retender over the winter and schedule the work next year."
If it doesn't work out, he said, there's still time to arrange for traditional roofing next summer.
"We surely won't be doing the whole school," he noted, "because there's just not the money in the budget for it."
