Spring Break
New Fine Arts construction on roof causes commotion
Jennifer Scungio
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: News
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For the past month, workers from Gorman Roofing have stripped the old roof and are in the process of installing insulation and a new roofing surface using hot tar.
Director of Capital Projects Paul DePace said complaints have come up throughout the past month, mainly about the removal of the old roof.
Fallen debris, dust and the smell of tar have been the major complaints.
"There are no [drop] ceilings below the roof deck, so when dust got dislodged when stripping the old roof, it would fall directly on individuals in the art history classes," DePace said.
Art professor Wendy Roworth said the roofing work was disrupting classes and the work of faculty members. Faculty and staff have had to use plastic covering in their offices to prevent damage from fallen debris.
"It's just been incredibly disruptive for classes and faculty," she said. "It's unfair to students and faculty and everybody's been getting headaches from the tar."
She said one of the most disruptive times she experienced during the roofing process was in the last few weeks of the fall semester. Roworth administered final exams in alternate buildings because of the loud interruptions caused by the roofers.
"It sounded like elephants were stomping on the roof," she said.
In response, Roworth said faculty members were looking to find other available classrooms in different buildings at the beginning of the spring semester.
"It's very hard to teach art history in another room because we need to show slides and other images," she said. "But we finally did agree we wouldn't move our classes and the roofers would work around us."
Despite the department's decision, Roworth said a more appropriate time to do work on the roof would have been after classes were completed in May.
"My question has been why is the roofer schedule more important than the academic schedule," she said. "This is an academic problem that's disrupting research and the weather pushes the work back more and more and we're so sick of it. I've told my students we're trying everything we can. [Students] pay tuition and expect a safe environment and it's hard to provide."
DePace said he has responded to the complaints by rescheduling work when the classrooms below are unoccupied, as well as having construction done on Saturdays.
The placement of the kettle that heats the tar used on the roof has also been an issue. DePace said the workers moved the kettle between the A and F Wing loading docks because the smell of the tar was causing complaints. They have also blocked off the doors near the loading docks and have posted signs asking for people to use alternate doors.
"Several of the fumes were coming through the door of the building because of the placement of the hot mop kettle near the door," he said. "We have taped off the doors [near the loading docks] and they'll only be used for emergency purposes."
He added he would have liked to have the new roof installed during the summer when the building was not occupied. Delays in the installation of the new roof have taken place due to problems with contracts with the roofing company, DePace said.
"If it's postponed for that long, why not wait until summer," junior Anita Lojek said. "Or what about Christmas break? Just any time except now."
She added when the roof was being repaired during classes, it caused people to feel uncomfortable.
"The smell is nasty," Lojek said. "It causes people to have migraines and it's nauseating. It's so bad."
Wreckage of artwork and computers was a major concern for students and faculty.
"In my senior seminar some of the students had fresh paintings, and dust was falling on the fresh artwork," senior Valerie Kitchin said.
Kitchin added she encountered an experience with the workers.
"Weeks ago I was outside having a smoke with my fiancée and he was hit with kneepads thrown by the workers [on the ceiling]," she said.
Lojek said many of the students who take art classes are usually in the building anywhere between three to nine hours because of the length of art classes.
"It's frustrating because we have to be in here for class," she said.
With Wednesday's winter weather conditions, the building endured another setback. Roworth said room F201 had water damage from the rain and sleet. Several leaks from the ceiling filled the room and buckets of water were routinely emptied yesterday.
"Because of the construction we sometimes have leaks," Roworth said. "The rug is still soaked."
Junior Kristin Knight also was inconvenienced in one of her art history classes.
"There was one seat you couldn't sit in," she said. "Water was dripping into the trash can loudly during presentations."
DePace said one of the reasons a new roof was being installed was because of water damage.
Despite the complaints, Roworth said she gives thanks to the janitorial staff of Fine Arts.
"The janitorial staff have been fantastic," she said. "They come into work early and do a great job at trying to make it work."
DePace said the new roof is of high quality and weather resistant.
"We put on layers of insulation using hot tar," he said, "The tar is used to mop several layers onto the roofing felts that makes for a good weather resistant system."
DePace said the new roof is expected to last for the next 20 years.
