2/13/2006

$7 Million+ Leaky Roof

After all the concern over there being a performance bond posted for the New Town Hall, I certainly hope there is one in force as regards the new school addition! I was up there today in the brand new gym with the nice hardwood floor and there, dripping from the netherlands of the ceiling were two seperate cascades of water onto the floor! Apparently the horizontally driven snow got inside the roof somehow, in sufficient quantities to cause some good sized puddles down below. How in the hell do we manage to spend that much money on a new construction building and have the damned roof leak? And how do you fix it in the middle of the winter? You can't strip it now I wouldn't think. When the wind blows NW or SW and it is raining, you can hear and FEEL the raindrops hitting the wall covering "inside" the tin covering on the outside of the building. How can THAT be possible? Someone needs to give someone else a good ass kicking and hold back a good sizeable chunk of money until this is all fixed!! TIFN

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Evertt

Chill out, I'm sure everbody knows about the leak. It could be coming from any number of places, ductwork ,ac units,vents,etc. Whose butt should be kicked? Have some patience and tolerence,oh I forgot you are perfect and know everything about BI,construction,and whats good for the island. Try taking a deep breath.

Everett said...

You must be the coolest person on the Island. It does't bother you that there is a problem or two up there? It IS coming from a few places including the duct work and the vents. Whose butt needs a kicking? How about we start with the designer/architect for a start, then move on to the engineer in charge of the project. Then on down to the guy who was putting it together bolt by bolt and was in a hurry to catch the last boat home? Nah these Islanders out here are too stupid to notice that I didn't caulk this or that or this piece doesn't really fit here but I'll put it in anyway. Who is going to check? And then to the local representative of the taxpayers who is supposed to be over seeing the process? I think they call him the clerk of the works. We didn't HAVE one on a $7M job project! You know, the guy who would be watching every move to make sure everything was done acording to plan and spec. No, those construction companies wouldn't be guilty of ommission by desigh or accident, so we will just let them oversee themselves and trust to their good will. Yeah right!! Patience and tolerance huh. How much would you have if the ceilings in your new $7M house were falling down around your ears. I daresay not too damned much. In the meantime, what do you think that water is doing to the hardwood floor?
And yes, I'm glad that you have finally come to the realization that I AM perfect and know ALL there is to know about all types of construction, steel work and all, and that most of all I recognize what is good for the Island! The number one thing on my knowing what is good for the Island is that, "you should emmigrate to ???" Can I se you off at the boat?

Anonymous said...

Being in the construction field I understand that there are problems that come up , the bigger the project the greater the chance for errors.I would say you are just a monday morning quarterback. A typical fool you just runs his mouth blaming everybody and everthing. You are basically a problem identifier and not a problem solver.

Sam said...

If you were in the construction industry you would know there are plenty of things to do like go after the performance bond, hold all payments, send a letter of demand, and get resolution as soon as possible. The Prime Contractor's main interest is to fix the problem within a reasonable time period, since poor performace reflects on his or her company.

As a taxpayer, Everett is justified in calling this matter to attention, even if he sounds a little alarmist. If you have been in the construction industry you would know that leaking penetrations could cause mildew, which could require that a good part of the school be rebuilt. That is precisely why fast, immediate action is not only necessary but required.

If you had ever been in the construction industry and worked on "sick building syndrome" with expensive mildew restoration, you would know exactly why it is an important issue - many insurance companies have dropped mildew coverage from their policies.

Anonymous said...

Everett
First the water is cascading down, now the ceilings are falling in. You have one screwed up way of looking at things

Sam said...

LOL, I live in Texas, woman, and I'm a yellow dog democrat nothing like Everett. We both have plenty of dogs to do the butt-sniffing thing in our respective places, should you be interested in those rather crass kinds of details. It sounds like you are!

Anonymous said...

anonymous 11:31 am....

It sound to me like you don't care how our tax dollars are spent. I for one want to make sure we get the most and the best for our money. No one is giving this gym to us, we are paying good hard earned money for it. If there are leaks, they need to be fixed ASAP and any underlying insulation replaced so we don't have a mold problem after the contractor is gone. If you have children in the school you should be very concerned.
It isn't easy getting a contractor from the mainland to return to BI to fix problems once they leave. If you are a contractor you should realize that fact.
I don't understand why you are blaming the messenger. I believe that Everett volunteers his time to keep the gym floor clean. I don't see you or anyone else offering a to help out. I will have to ask Everett next time I see him. If he sees problems that should be corrected he should speak up. It sounds like he is looking out for the kids, as well as the taxpayer which is more then I can say for you.

BTW, if you truly are a contractor or are in the building trade AND you say that bigger projects have bigger problems AND you aren't too concerned about this problem, it is a good thing that you are anonymous...I WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO BUILD MY HOUSE!!!

Anonymous said...

Catt

What I said was larger projects have a greater chance for errors and nowhere did I say I wasn't concerned. We just had a noreaster, two days ago, if leaks develope, of course they should be fixed. But to fly off the handle and demand that heads roll, is just stupid and shortsighted. You have to give the contractor a reasonable amount of time to address the problem.

Sam said...

One of the reasons to ring the bell, put a lantern in the church belfry, and holler around town is to get somebody to do something, which in bureacratic-time quite often means weeks or months. They can delay forever.

But I will concede that moderation is the key to success, as Anon says. There's no reason to rip each other up when we all know something should be done. /s/

Anonymous said...

I guess what I don't understand is why certain continuing people with anonymity, who think little of Everett, call him names and belittle his personal opinions and generally hate everything he has to say, continues to read and post on his blog. If Ev's opinions piss you off so much, just stop reading his blog.

Everett said...

Yeah Paula!!But I have kind of come to anticipate the next tirade.
Too Mr Sniper;
-First the water does cascade through the roof and IT causes the ceiling to fall down when the ceiling material begins to collect water and disintegrate. Simple enough so that I'm sure even you can understand that process being a builder of sorts, right? But I guess looking at a problem and identifying it is somewhere far outside your purvue and capabilities.
-Mouth running fool that I am, I did neglect to put one important fact in the blog. This,'just past' snow storm was NOT THE FIRST TIME that water has entered the gym! It has been a recurring event SINCE THE END OF THE SUMMER. The contractors have had a good long time to attend to the problem, but not a whole hell of a lot has transpired in the way of correcting the problem. Just how many years should we put up with it before we demand it gets done Mr Sniper?
-Even a cursory examination of the place will show you that in one place, the umteen thousand dollar floor is already beginning to buckle.
-There was a basketball game at the school yesterday afternoon and there were about 40 to 50 spectators there. They were dismayed to see garbage cans and wastepaper baskets arrayed along the center line of the floor to catch the water falling from the roof. "What is going on" they all wanted to know? So I think your previous allegation that
"everybody" already knew about the leaks was at best a gross overstatement. Very few people anywhere on the Island had a clue as to what was happening.
Guess that is it for this time my most ardent detractor.

Unknown said...

There's a very good reason, actually, that anonymous bloggers think it's funny to come on here and belittle Everett and toss around outdated phrases like "butt sniffing ass kisser" and "chill out."
It's because that's what teenagers do.

Anonymous said...

Deirdre

In a battle of wits you are unarmed, a penny for your thoughts, you've been overpaid.

Anonymous said...

Everette, while agree there is no excuse for the leaks what can be done to fix it asap?

I also want to thank you for going up and cleaning the floor. I am surprised though that I have never seen the leak before in your blog (I admit I could have missed it though).

Bottom line its broken how can we fix it. The kids (big and small) deserve to have a decent building.

Anonymous said...

If that manager or shall i say moron who never leaves his trailer. Did his job instead of hide out all day we would'nt even have these problems. He should be fired!!!! Fatama hospital was 4 years over, with him making the calls. Why does it not suprise me that he ends up on BI.

Anonymous said...

What manager are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

Ah, Deirdre, I see what you mean...

Sam said...

Hey Island Worker,
I like the positive spirit. The water is getting in somewhere through the roof and it should not be too hard to find on a gym. It could be roof panels, penetrations like vents, or a number of things. Hopefully this is something that can be solved with one or two tubes of caulking, real obvious, but roofing problems are rarely that easy. I like the silicon caulking unless you're dealing with an asphalt roofing system, which requires hot work or something like Bulldog cement. /s/

Anonymous said...

Roof Update

I did notice a couple of guys on the roof of the gym today, one was on his knees poking around and the other looked like he was taking pictures.

Anonymous said...

anonymous 2/14/06 3:25 pm

You said that we should allow a reasonable amount of time for the leaks to be fixed. Well, it seems to me that they would have been fixed the leaks BEFORE the insulation was installed. I have done a little investigation and have discovered that these leaks have existed since the roof was constructed. It did not just happen after our last storm. As far as I am concerned we are not getting our monies worth, and these problems should NEVER have existed.
The Town Council chose to be in charge of this project and they are not doing their job if these leaks aren't fixed ASAP and they should insist, or should I say DEMAND that the insulation be replaced. The news has been filled with reports of schools and work places that have been closed because of mold. We should not have to worry about that kind of a problem in a new building, and that is just what we will be facing if the wet insulation is not replaced.
Every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle,cousin, student, taxpayer and anyone that uses the gym should be insisting that the town have someone supervise the repairs and replacement of the insulation. This is the only way we can be sure that the job is done right.

Anonymous said...

Catt

There is only one problem with your thought ,the insulation was installed before the final roof system was but on. This is not build like convential house, where the insulation is installed from the inside. This is done more like a post and beam,where you erect the frame and go from the inside out. This is a big problem, if I were to guess whats going on, is that they trying to determine who is at fault. Is it the roofing system/ design? was it right for BI weather? Or was it installed improperly? I hope this helped.

Everett said...

Well whatever the cause was or is, there are people walking around up on the roof this morning and afternoon. I don't know if they are just looking or fixing. There is also a large amount of bags of insulation sitting outside the gym furnace room door. Don't know if it is for the roof or the furnace room. Maybe both. At least something is happening!

Anonymous said...

I have it on good authority that the problem with the roof is the damn ridge vent (which doesn't cut it with our wind and sideways precip out here). I know of builders who cap the roofs they build and then put the ridge vent on to satisfy 'the inspector'and those are the roofs that don't leak!

Sam said...

Ridgecap? You mean rain collector? Wish my son & I were there because any respectable tinsmith knows you'd need one with flanges about 3-4 feet wide to work right at low angles. I am sure they are having a "Gomer Pyle" moment about all this.

Goooollleee, Sarge!

Unknown said...

To my loving anonymous teenage friend, giver of such love to this and other blogs...

While I am neither unarmed in the wits department, nor overpaid for any opinion with a penny or other tender...
Any time you want to throw down on who is the better writer, just let me know. I assure you that is a battle I would win.

Kisses!

Sam said...

LOL, Everett told me you could reduce such a person to a quivering mass of yellow-brown sea foam. I surely hope that doesn't happen!

Anonymous said...

Geeze...how pathetic

Anonymous said...

Oh hush up and go do your homework!

Anonymous said...

The issue is that you are complaining about someone flinging insults...and then you just perpetuate the problem by calling them out. Neither side is helping constructive debate.

Discuss real issues and don't answer the immature BS.

Anonymous said...

Hey, here's some food for thought - while everyone was worried about the leaky roof, all the fill has disappeared from the Faulkner lot as ordered by the Town Manager. Did I misunderstand that the intention of convincing the Townspeople to purchase the lot was to make a playing field out of it? It made too much sense to cart the fill from the High St. construction up there for regrading to make the field level. Now in the wisdom of Town Hall, they want to return it to it's original state. I'm quite sure that is not what the taxpayers approved (not to mention the stupidity of handling the material multiple times and taking it for an island tour.)

Everett said...

I just read the above comment about 15 minutes ago and couldn't believe they got all that fill out of there so fast, so I went and took a look. It is still all there as of 7:45 this AM,02/21/06. It looks as though they were looking for the, under the road drain, and then spread out some of the fill at that end of the lot.

Anonymous said...

I stand corrected - all the fill is not gone yet but several loads were moved yesterday from the Town Hall first and then the school - check out the area behind the skateboard park. And yes, it's true, they were poking around looking for the drain but several hundred yards were moved yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Besides being a good listener, I am also an astute observer - as of late this afternoon, there is no more fill in the Faulkner Lot.

Everett said...

The roof at the new school addition is also supposedly fixed to! Second coat of final finishing of the gym floor is complete also. Now if everyone will comply with the 'No street shoes in the gym' rule, it will stay nicely done for a few years! Apparently the roof ridge was held on by only a few fasteners, and the wicked winds of BI caused it to flap and loosen up so the caulking worked out and let the rain come in. Hope all is well from now on!

Sam said...

I thought there was a loose screw somewhere! Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

Glad everything is on an even keel now.

So when are y'all going to start up a port authority? Before ya know it, there will be 30 ferries a day and at least 2,000 boats, both harbors included. It is a great way to finance bonds for improvements without taxing the locals ...

Everett said...

The port authority has been bandied around for years but all the nay sayers keep saying it can't be done. Damned if I know why not. Mass ass achu setts has one. Hey did you see where Teddy the drunk lady "killer" is going to be running unopposed this year? I can't believe that alcoholic bum keeps getting elected over and over again. I wonder when the people of Mass are going to realize the Kennedys AIN'T royalty! They are just crooks like most of the rest of the Pols of today. Oh yeah, He's THEIR crook!!

Sam said...

Hey Everett, down here in TX we have a Navigation District for a community of less than 500 people - it is not even a town. Port Manfield Nav District only operates a public dock, a small boat ramp, and tiny airfield. All they had to do was to get the legislature to create the district, which was done back in 1948.

So I don't see why Block Island couldn't have a similar deal, as it would take a large burden off the town's shoulders and have its own funding resources.

As to the Kennedys, they don't call it Bean Town for nothing, eh? He's their mascot. Plbbbbt!