School District Completes Repairs on Junior High Roof

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School District Completes Repairs on Junior High Roof

County Ledger,AK*

http://www.ashleycountyledger.com/articles/2008/02/12/news/h16f075r.t

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The Hamburg School District completed repairs to the roof on the

Hamburg Junior High this weekend and maintenance personnel completed

the removal and replacement of damaged ceiling tiles and wet

insulation before problems with mold could emerge. Hamburg

Superintendent of Schools said that while the repair

of the roof itself will cost $27,000 it will be at least later this

week before a final estimate of the damage will be determined.

The storms which moved through County on Tuesday, February 5,

peeled back the roof over ten classrooms and one restroom in the

southeast or eighth grade wing of the junior high building. On the

east side of the building, pieces of the original roof were piled up

along the edge of the building. The roof damage came during a line

of heavy thunderstorms accompanied by tornado warnings which moved

through the Hamburg area about 3:30 p.m. Because of the tornado

warning, the district kept all students in school until after 4

p.m., and no one was hurt during the storm.

The superintendent said that the students were in the halls of the

building when the storms hit. He said that when the roof was blown

away, some of the students got wet from the water coming into the

roof, but there were no injuries and no hysteria, even with ceiling

tiles and insulation falling into the halls and classrooms. In

addition, the floors were covered with water. " The administration,

teachers and staff did an excellent job in conducting procedures.

They just took control of the situation, " he said.

said Friday afternoon that all of the insulation and

ceiling tiles had been taken out of the affected part of the

building and workers were to install new insulation and tiles over

the weekend.

Late Tuesday afternoon, district and other workers tried to provide

a temporary covering over the roof in order to prepare for

additional rain. After the storm Tuesday afternoon, the halls and

ten classrooms had ceiling tiles and insulation falling.

said that the district's electrician had checked the

building and had not found any problems.

On Wednesday, a representative from Risk Management Associates, the

district's insurance carrier, examined the damage and authorized the

district to proceed with repairs to get the building safe and dry.

The superintendent said that he contacted Harold Hall Roofing, a

firm with experience in the type of roof on the building. He said

that the original roof was heated to be installed, but with the new

roof, the materials are fastened down. The roof material is Dura-

last, he said. The Dura-last roof material is a membrane system

which is resistant to wind and punctures as well as chemical and

fire resistant.

Cleanup operations at the building started Tuesday night, even with

basketball games continuing as scheduled in the junior high gym. On

Wednesday and Thursday, district maintenance employees continued

removing damaged tiles and insulation and worked to replace the

fascia boards and other items needed for the installation of the new

roof. By Friday afternoon, almost all of the new roof had been

installed.

said that in addition to work done by the district

personnel, the affected areas will be professionally cleaned to help

in reducing the possibility of future problems.

The district will be compiling a list of computers, books and other

materials which suffered damage from the water coming into the

building. noted that even though the computers will

operate, Jon Ballard, the district's technology coordinator, told

the superintendent that he thinks that there may be problems with

corrosion later due to moisture in the computers.

The superintendent said that no other district buildings had any

damage, adding that he could not see how the varsity gymnasium had

escaped damage, but it had. The roof on the junior high building was

scheduled to be replaced next year, but those plans were moved up to

this year, at least on the part affected by the storm.

" We were very fortunate not to have sustained any more damage. We

can always replace roofs, we can always replace buildings if we need

to, but you certainly can't replace students and staff, " the

superintendent said.