Repair work began on the leaky Wheatley roof on Sept. 27, with a projected end date in late December. After it is completed, construction will begin on the McCormack roof and then the Healey roof. The UMass Building Authority is financing the repair projects with an expected cost of $2.4 million.
The Wheatley roofs were last replaced in the early ’90s. Manager of Construction and Master Planning Holly Sutherland stated that the need to repair the Wheatley roof is obvious, and that extreme weather and shoddy repair work has exacerbated the problem. Sutherland stated, “When the roof was replaced in the ’90s, the masonry was not replaced and drainage issues were not addressed.”
Before actual waterproofing and repair began, UMB facilities and the UMass Building Authority hired engineers to conduct an extensive survey of Wheatley to identify all the water infiltration areas.
Sandbags had previously been used as a semi-effective method of controlling water leakage, but hurricane Irene made things worse.
Sutherland explained that, because of the “large design aspect to this project, there has been a plan in place to replace the roof for a long time, but [we] wanted to do it in the right way.”
When it rains, puddles form on the roof because there is no pitch to guide rainwater to the drainage system. Sutherland described the ongoing repairs as “extremely extensive” and noted that “there will be a lot of masonry replacement, and a lot of waterproofing around pretty much all the openings on the sixth floor roof.”
Because of the construction, a crane will be employed periodically to take materials on and off the roof, taking up several spaces in the South Lot during the hours it is in use.
Water was also discovered leaking into the second floor from the third floor terrace. That problem is being addressed as well. The English Department is housed on the sixth floor of Wheatley and has been dealing with leaks for a long time.
Facilities workers and sixth floor staff have been able to plan around construction. Ellen O’Connor, the Vice Chancellor for Administration and finance, held a meeting on Oct. 11 at which the sixth floor professors voiced their frustration with the leaks.
The professors were most concerned about mold and water on the walls, as well as concerns about the air purity. Some people have complained of asthma recently, but no names were mentioned. The solution they came to was to relocate the more sensitive people to unaffected offices and also provide everybody with air cleansing machines.
Brian Dumser, the interim director of the Environmental Health and Safety Department, said that the aim is to stop water from intruding into the walls, which will prevent eventual mold growth, but he does not think the mold is particularly hazardous to people’s health because there are no spores.
The informal plan for office repairs discussed at the meeting is that rugs will be taken out and possibly be replaced by tiles. Work will be done to make the roof watertight by end of December. By end of January, office reconstruction should be underway. There will also be testing for asbestos by the end of the year.