2008 Woodie Awards
Ice Causes Leaking In Campus Buildings
Daniel Barber/Muleskinner
Issue date: 2/1/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Holes in the roof of the Art Center have caused water damage and a $350,000 bid for repairs.
Mike Gebeke, director of physical plant, made the bid to fix the roof damage caused by ice.
Repairs are expected to begin as early as March.
The roof at the Art Center was built in the 1970s Gebeke said, noting that it actually lasted longer than expected on that kind of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) roof.
Gebeke said when ice forms, the PVC roof shrinks and gets tight as a drum.
The weight of the ice then causes the roof to crack.
The ice buildup on the roof from the past month caused four or five holes to form and water to leak down into the building.
"There were 20 different active leak areas," Gebeke said.
"When it fails, it goes all at once," Gebeke said.
The new roof will have a rubber membrane and be similar to other flat-roofed buildings on campus.
Physical plant workers were able to shovel the ice from the roof and patch up holes to stop more water from leaking into the building.
Gebeke said shoveling the ice is not normal procedure because, "you get more holes than you originally had."
The shoveling put more than 89 holes in the roof, but those were also patched up until the new roof can be installed.
Mick Luehrman, chair of the art department, said there were a few drawings that had water damage and a computer lab in had to be shut down.
"We had severe leaks in one of our computer labs, but we don't believe that any of the computers were damaged," Luehrman said. "We won't know until we have the computers up and running again."
Luehrman said no classes were canceled, but some had to be moved due to the leaks.
"[Also], the computer lab being shut down limited access to some classes," Luehrman said.
The roof was in very bad shape, Luehrman said, but the work done by facilities, the physical plant and the custodians to repair the leaks helped a lot.
Leaks were also spotted in the Martin and Wood buildings, including the third-floor wood computer lab.
Gebeke said the roofs in those buildings are not as old and need only be patched up and repaired when necessary.
Steven Boone, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, said the information on the leaks was conveyed to Physical Plant, and the situation was handled accordingly.
"The damage was minimized because the custodial staff and physical plant crew did a great job of directing the water into barrels and monitoring the situation while there was still water on the roof and leaking through the cracks," Boone said.
"The roof problems have never been minimized, but it is nearly impossible to completely water-proof a flat roof."
Mike Gebeke, director of physical plant, made the bid to fix the roof damage caused by ice.
Repairs are expected to begin as early as March.
The roof at the Art Center was built in the 1970s Gebeke said, noting that it actually lasted longer than expected on that kind of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) roof.
Gebeke said when ice forms, the PVC roof shrinks and gets tight as a drum.
The weight of the ice then causes the roof to crack.
The ice buildup on the roof from the past month caused four or five holes to form and water to leak down into the building.
"There were 20 different active leak areas," Gebeke said.
"When it fails, it goes all at once," Gebeke said.
The new roof will have a rubber membrane and be similar to other flat-roofed buildings on campus.
Physical plant workers were able to shovel the ice from the roof and patch up holes to stop more water from leaking into the building.
Gebeke said shoveling the ice is not normal procedure because, "you get more holes than you originally had."
The shoveling put more than 89 holes in the roof, but those were also patched up until the new roof can be installed.
Mick Luehrman, chair of the art department, said there were a few drawings that had water damage and a computer lab in had to be shut down.
"We had severe leaks in one of our computer labs, but we don't believe that any of the computers were damaged," Luehrman said. "We won't know until we have the computers up and running again."
Luehrman said no classes were canceled, but some had to be moved due to the leaks.
"[Also], the computer lab being shut down limited access to some classes," Luehrman said.
The roof was in very bad shape, Luehrman said, but the work done by facilities, the physical plant and the custodians to repair the leaks helped a lot.
Leaks were also spotted in the Martin and Wood buildings, including the third-floor wood computer lab.
Gebeke said the roofs in those buildings are not as old and need only be patched up and repaired when necessary.
Steven Boone, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, said the information on the leaks was conveyed to Physical Plant, and the situation was handled accordingly.
"The damage was minimized because the custodial staff and physical plant crew did a great job of directing the water into barrels and monitoring the situation while there was still water on the roof and leaking through the cracks," Boone said.
"The roof problems have never been minimized, but it is nearly impossible to completely water-proof a flat roof."
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