AC1's leaky roof puzzles facilities management
Trevis Matheus
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: News
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After nearly two years of the roof leaking there is no known cause of the leaks. Maintenance has thoroughly examined the roof's membrane and flashing, the thin metal that seals the roof around corners and edges, and has not found a source of the leaks.
Maintenance has thoroughly cleaned the roof and prepared it for the company that installed it to come and inspect the roof membrane and flashing inch by inch.
John Ellis, Director of Facilities Management, said that the "current hypothesis is that water is coming down the penthouse walls, then spreading."
The penthouse is the large portion of red brick that is visible at the very top of AC-1. The theory of the wet penthouse is substantiated by the fact that brick is porous and under constant undulation of water, like that of a storm, the water could soak through the brick. If you were to stand in the penthouse during a storm you can see the water leaking through the pores in the bricks. The water is then thought to spread along the ceiling of AC-1 and eventually drip down into the hallways and offices below. If the problem is as simple as porous bricks the penthouse can be painted with a water proof acrylic.
To ensure that the penthouse is not just one of many causes of the roofs leaking, Facilities is going to have infrared photos of the roof taken. Tremco, a roofing company, will use an IR camera to find wet spots in the roof. Because the IR camera can see the water, Tremco can trace the water back to its source.
Professors on the third floor of AC-1 have been battling the leaky roof every time it rains. Most of the leaks are in the halls but some of the leaks are in the offices. The large brown stains in the ceiling tiles are anything but aesthetically pleasing. The leaky roof is considered by many professors on the third floor to be an embarrassment if seen by touring prospective students and their parents.
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