When it comes to change orders for building projects, it is often a win-some, lose-some scenario. Such was the case for Palmerton Area School District recently, which saw a large chunk of added electrical work offset by a savings on insulation costs.

Palmerton’s school board approved a change order this week adding $132,524 to an Ace Electric contract, but a savings on its Midline Mechanical contract brought the net increase down to $37,000.

During an HVAC project at S.S. Palmer Elementary School, the electric company discovered antiquated electrical work after opening up the ceilings.

“This process is very similar to what occurred at the high school in that you never know what is going to happen when the ceilings are opened up,” Superintendent Scot Engler said.

To help ease the blow, Midline Mechanical offered the district a credit. After the original job specifications called for using Armaflex insulation, that will now only be used in certain areas.

“We’re able to put fiberglass insulation of the same quality at a great savings to the district,” Engler said.

The repairs to the electrical deficiencies has already been made before the board ratifying the work Tuesday.

Director Earl Paules questioned if that was the normal procedure.

“Normally, we try to bring change orders to the board before the work is done, but in this case there were code violations uncovered that had to be dealt with right away,” he said. “Once that kind of thing is exposed, it has to be done and it’s cheaper to do while the contractor is already on site.”

Considering the building’s age, Paules also questioned why the contractor didn’t factor in potential issues when it submitted a bid for the project.

“They do the project based on what we are putting in,” Engler said, “not the existing conditions they uncover when they open the ceilings. They wouldn’t bid based on what they expect to find when they open a ceiling, because then someone else is going to bid lower then them, get the job and just submit the work later as a change order.”

Another credit, estimated to be about $12,000, could be on the way from Midline after several unit ventilators originally projected for the project will not need to be used.