School & Educational Facility Roofing in DFW

The Summer Window — Why You Have to Plan Early

Texas public schools run roughly 180 days a year. That leaves about 10 weeks of summer — and that's your window. Roofing work is loud. Membrane tear-off, fastener guns, torch equipment — you can't run that next to a classroom full of kids. Texas law and most ISD policies flat-out prohibit construction that disrupts instruction. If you try to work around an occupied building during the school year, you're looking at section-by-section phasing that blows up your timeline and your budget.

So here's what facilities managers need to hear: the project has to be designed, specified, bid, and awarded before summer starts. We work with ISDs and private schools on timelines that account for board approval cycles, competitive bidding, and material lead times. That means starting pre-project planning in January or February if you want to break ground in June. We see this every year — districts that wait too long end up scrambling, or they push the project another year and the roof gets worse.

What Systems Work on School Buildings

Most DFW schools are one- or two-story buildings with big flat or low-slope roof areas. Single-ply commercial systems are the right call. Three main options:

TPO

TPO is the most cost-effective option for most school buildings, running $5.50–8.50 per square foot installed. White TPO reflects UV radiation and keeps HVAC loads down in classrooms — real money savings over a 20-year roof life. 60 mil is standard for educational facilities; 80 mil makes sense when there's heavy rooftop mechanical access. We install Carlisle and GAF TPO systems with manufacturer warranties up to 30 years.

EPDM

EPDM is the lowest installed cost at $4–6.50 per square foot and performs well on low-traffic roofs. The downside is energy performance — black EPDM absorbs heat. White-coated EPDM is available but closes the price gap with TPO. For districts with tight capital budgets where the upfront number is everything, EPDM gets the job done.

Modified Bitumen

Mod-bit is the right call for older school buildings with complex roof geometry — lots of HVAC penetrations, skylights, and drainage configurations that don't play nicely with a single-ply system. Runs $4.50–7.50 per square foot installed. Reflective cap sheets are available if energy performance matters. We specify this on re-roofing jobs where the existing substrate has too many irregularities for a clean single-ply installation.

Safety on School Campuses

If any work happens while a campus is occupied — even just administrators and summer staff — the safety requirements go up. Our project superintendents are OSHA 30-hour certified. Crew members carry OSHA 10-hour cards. Occupied campus projects get debris containment systems, controlled access points, and hard barrier separation between the work zone and any occupied areas. Dumpster placement gets planned so kids can't get near debris even if a vehicle drops off materials during a summer program day.

We run drone inspections before demolition starts to map every penetration, drain, and equipment location. This matters because hidden conduit runs and unmarked structural issues show up during tear-off all the time — and discovering that mid-project on an ISD job can halt work and leave a roof open to weather during the academic year. That's a situation nobody wants.

Warranty Requirements for Public Schools

Most Texas school districts specify a 20-year minimum manufacturer-backed warranty. That requirement rules out contractor-only warranties and requires a manufacturer-certified installer. We hold Carlisle SynTec Authorized Installer and Firestone Red Shield Contractor certifications, which lets us offer No Dollar Limit (NDL) warranties up to 30 years on qualifying systems.

NDL means the manufacturer — Carlisle, Firestone — covers the cost of any repair or replacement for the warranty term. Not just materials. Labor too. That's the most protective form of commercial roof warranty available and the right call for taxpayer-funded assets.

Federal Registration — SAM.gov

Texas ISDs that receive federal funding — Title I, E-Rate, ESSER, others — may be required to use SAM.gov registered contractors for capital projects above certain thresholds. JRH is SAM.gov registered, which puts us in a small percentage of Texas roofers that can work on federally funded school projects. Combined with $10 million in bonding capacity, we check the box for virtually every Texas ISD procurement, including multi-campus programs and emergency repair jobs.