School Buildings: Remodeling; Rehabilitation; Modernization; Repair. Bulletin, 1950, No. 17

Adequate school plants are essential to a modern educational program. The school plant that is not properly maintained soon fails to provide the service for which it was intended. The total program of maintenance, including repairs, renovation, remodeling, rehabilitation, and modernization should be carefully planned. Some tasks will recur at regular intervals. A few tasks must be handled as the need arises. Other tasks, such as painting, can be scheduled. Many school districts cannot afford to replace all of their old school buildings. In order to be able to maintain utilization and service from these buildings, the districts find it necessary to rehabilitate and modernize the buildings. "Remodeling" is commonly thought of as a change in structure or a major structural improvement to the building. Some remodeling is usually done as a part of the rehabilitating and modernizing programs, but all remodeling is not necessarily rehabilitation or modernization. Remodeling might involve a change of partitions, a change in the roof structure, or a change in an exterior wall. "Rehabilitation" is usually thought of as a general overhauling of the complete building or a major section thereof in order to better adapt it to continued use for the school program. While remodeling may be limited to one section of the building, renovation generally covers a larger area or scope. "Modernization" programs may involve some remodeling and some rehabilitation. The modernization programs are designed primarily for the purpose of adapting existing facilities and spaces to meet the needs of changing educational programs. "Repair" programs are essentially what the name implies--the repairing or patching of a roof, the replacement of boiler tubes, or the adjustment of motors. The sections of this bulletin are planned to indicate some of the areas in school plants where remodeling, repairs, etc., are often needed. The listing does not indicate an order of priority, nor is the listing intended to be all-inclusive. Some suggestions on general procedures and on the results to be obtained have been included. However, these suggestions do not include detailed work plans for a specific remodeling, rehabilitation, or modernization task. The whole building maintenance program should be planned in advance and standards of service established. These standards should serve as partial goals in the plant care programs. A bibliography is provided. (Contains 4 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]