Roofing Project Profiles

Milwaukee Public Schools Adopt Innovative Roof Drainage System, Extend Life of School Buildings

ATLANTA — Atlas® Roofing Corporation is celebrating its successful and ongoing partnership of more than 20 years with Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Throughout their relationship, Atlas® and MPS have repaired, replaced and maintained more than 200 roofs across the school system’s expansive and historic network of buildings. Using the Atlas® Certified Drainage Program™ (CDP) to evaluate and repair the individual roofing system of each building, MPS has improved the condition of their schools, reduced maintenance costs and rescued several buildings from being condemned. The school system remains in strong partnership with Atlas® and continues to see the benefits of an innovative roof design and maintenance program that protects their buildings – many of which have historic significance.

Before working with Atlas Roofing, many of the schools at Milwaukee Public School Systems were under threat of closure due to unsafe conditions. MPS partnered with Atlas Roofing Corporation to ensure the roofing systems would solve safety concerns and extend the life of the historic school buildings.

“Located throughout the city of Milwaukee and neighboring towns, MPS houses thousands of students, and after years of wear and tear, the buildings’ roofs were in terrible shape, with some under threat of condemnation,” said Dennis Fula, the former crew leader of the MPS Roofing Team. “We set out to implement a long-term and holistic vision for each roof by improving thermal performance and executing a positive drainage solution.”

Impact and Results from Atlas Roofing System

By utilizing the Atlas Roofing Corporation’s Certified Drainage Program (CDP™), the Milwaukee Public School System team were able to save on time and labor in addition to extending the life of each roof by at least 10-15 years, and in some cases more than 20. In fact, before implementing the CDP™ system, each school was only getting 20, 15 or as few as 10 years out of a roofing surface. Now the MPS team expects their roofs to last at least 30 years. Since implementing, the team has still yet to replace a roof with the new the CDP™ system installed.

While maintenance is still required, the number of repairs needed is drastically reduced each year. Before utilizing the CDP™ system, Fula would find 200-400 leaks to inspect after rain and now, the team is dealing with an average of only 20-30 leaks per building, of which only a fraction are leaks caused by the roof.

For more information, visit www.atlasrwi.com/casestudies/mps/.