East Hills Elementary School Renovation

Challenge

In May of 2014, Roslyn, New York voters approved a $41.3M capital programs bond for the Roslyn School District. With such a high dollar volume, each targeted school became a high-profile project, not just because they hadn’t been upgraded in decades, but because the bulk of the bond was tax-payer funded. This made transparency a must, with strict accountability to the budget and dollars spent. New concerns over infrastructure and safety measures made East Hills Elementary School among the first in line for upgrades to its corridors.

When KG&D set out to plan the East Hills corridors, two thoughts were in mind: budget and timeline. Not only was every expenditure going to be scrutinized, but KG&D would be fighting the clock too. School renovations must be completed only over summer break to minimize classroom disruption and safety hazards. With that in mind, KG&D painstakingly curated a tile that could be applied over the existing walls and would offer a refreshed, clean look. Applying over existing walls would save money by avoiding a costly demolition and would save time too.

Unfortunately, when the order was placed, KG&D discovered that the product they had originally specified was no longer available. With their backs against a wall, they reached out to Creative Materials Corporation to help them in the following ways:

• Source a tile that could be applied over existing walls
• Find a product priced within the existing budget
• Meet a very aggressive timeline and installation schedule

Solution

KG&D relied heavily upon Creative Materials to help source a product that would not just meet their clean and bright aesthetic, but could also be applied over existing walls, as was originally budgeted. Creative Materials located a gauged (thin) tile product that was perfect for a demo-free application and was also more affordable than the previously specified product. Once the product was selected, Creative Materials worked to procure the appropriate setting materials for a gauged tile product, guaranteeing a successful installation both in the short and long term.

But because of the lost time in placing the original order however, the tile was already behind schedule and jeopardized the opening of the school. So, Creative Materials Corporation leveraged its buying power to negotiate prioritized manufacturing time and an expedited delivery guarantee to get the product to the job site before the need-by date.

Result

By working with Creative Materials Corporation, East Hills School could open its doors for the first day of school, construction-zone free. They stayed under their original budget by working with the sourcing team and met a truncated schedule by relying on our network of trusted manufacturers.

Key Project Outcomes:

• Successfully applied gauged tile over existing walls
• Met all critical deadlines to open school on time
• Saved money by eliminating demolition of existing walls and corridors

DOWNLOAD EAST HILLS ELEMENTARY CASE STUDY