East High School

Project Strategy

Madison East High School has been an important part of the area since it opened in 1922. It is one of the most well-known schools and buildings in the city. It has elaborate stonework, Gothic towers, and strong brick and stone construction. Over the years, major improvements in 1925, 1932, 1938–1939, and 1962–1963 kept the school's historic charm while meeting the needs of Madison's growing student body.

Remodeling a 102-year-old high school, with all major improvements in that building happening before 1963 gave us the opportunity to solve interesting problems, show off our skills, and work closely with a very important client and general contractor. Given the operational constraints of working in an occupied school, all flooring installation was done 2nd shift to minimize disruption to students and staff. This required precise scheduling and coordination with school administrators and other trades to ensure smooth progress.

We were able to partner with Starnet vendors on this project which has already increased business for them with the district. The installation of Tarkett Powerbond carpet, with custom accent bands in the school’s purple, reflects our attention to detail and dedication to creating spaces that are not only functional but also meaningful to the client. The contrasting nosing highlights a commitment to safety, a key consideration in a busy school environment. Over 45,000sf of Kinetex was used throughout the building. Sergenian’s installed Kinetex in a few classrooms years prior to the product selections for this project, so they were confident selecting this product for all of their classrooms.

All carpet scraps from the installation were recycled by Sergenian’s and their fully comprehensive reclamation program.

Unique Installation Challenge Strategy

The unique design challenge strategy for this project focused on overcoming the structural and operational complexities of remodeling a 102-year-old high school while students are actively learning on site. This required precise scheduling and coordination with school administrators and other trades to ensure smooth progress. The existing conditions were different in every part of the building, including many areas that had asbestos tile flooring beneath 3-inches of failing light-weight concrete. To address these challenges, a second crew had to come into problem-solve and prep before the other installers arrived. By the end of the project, 1,200 hours and 122,870 pounds of Mapei patch and leveler had been worked into the project without extending the schedule. Clearstory was used to track all of this. We were able to get T&M tags signed remotely by a GC that was not on site when installers finished working because flooring was the only trade working 2nd shift hours. The owner and the GC both really appreciated the timeliness and detail included in the tags and change order requests.

Safety and aesthetics were seamlessly integrated in the Forum by incorporating accent bands as a clear visual contrast to alert users to elevation changes while enhancing the school’s branding with the school’s signature purple color at the nosing’s. The accent bands were added to the scope weeks before the forum was scheduled for flooring. The extents of the accent band and how the corners were to be cut had to be worked out with the designer, Tarkett and Sergenian’s.