Van Horne, IA
The Benton Community School District (BCSD) middle school/high school facility in Van Horne, Iowa was suffering from severe water problems both inside and out. The building's second roof in twenty years had failed prematurely: the existing roof material was shrinking, causing damage to the tops of the exterior wall masonry and at skylight and roof penetrations. The roof membrane had pulled away from walls in several locations and tears had developed, in some cases, across the entire length of the roof. Water had infiltrated wall cavities damaging the exterior brick, and "drip buckets" were a common sight throughout the building.
The school site and adjacent residential neighborhood also had drainage issues. The school building roof drains discharged directly onto the ground adjacent to the building and the few existing sub-drains were either plugged or undersized, creating wet conditions and icing problems in the winter months. Surface drainage from the 26-acre school site flowed westerly into a residential neighborhood with seal coat streets and flat-sloped, shallow ditches. About half a dozen homes experienced routine flooding during heavy rain events.
Shive-Hattery investigated the existing condition of the roof and masonry systems and completed a report that was used to settle a claim with the roofing manufacturer for the defective roofing material. Then, working closely with the BCSD Board of Directors and the Fix Our Roof Committee, a scope of work and recommendations were developed to replace the roof and improve drainage conditions for the site and adjacent neighborhood. The proposed improvements, funded by a combination of settlement money and local bond issue, were endorsed overwhelmingly by voters at a public bond referendum in late 2003.
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tags: high school, junior, middle, intermediate school, masonry