West Tisbury School in Martha’s Vineyard has found extensive rot to one of its newer sections of the school due to water damage.
The school’s water damage is being blamed on poor construction. The contractor that was hired to build this wing in the mid-1990’s will now have to reimburse the town for the cost of restoring the building or pay the disaster restoration specialist directly for services they will provide. The town’s insurance does not cover damages caused by water.
An engineer hired to inspect this problem has stated he believes the water damage started from a single window in a classroom that was not installed properly. This caused water to seep into the walls. Afterwards, termites moved-in. The building now has a great amount of rot and extensive mold growth on the cavity-side of the interior wall. MVGazette.com reports the engineer concluded the following:
“The principal cause of the water infiltration appears to be the poor quality of the joint between the window sill and the side casing . . . the window installation in general was poorly done and normal construction weather-proofing practices such as the installation of the proper flashings and window splines were not included in the original work.”
More on the school’s water damage dilemma and how it will be fixed.
