Cause of Loss:
On June 30th, 2014 a large 8” sprinkler line break occurred uphill from Eastmont Middle School. Within minutes, thousands of gallons of water, mud and silt, began careening towards the school, breaking through glass doors and flowing for several hours until it was discovered.
Unique Issues:
This was a very large project that left massive amounts of water, mud and silt throughout the lower levels of the school which included the auditorium, gym and several other main areas. A loss of power meant UDK had to bring in commercial generators to operate desiccant dehumidifiers, drying equipment and cooling equipment to keep the humidity levels at optimal drying temperatures.
Job Elements:
The school auditorium, sitting at the lowest elevation, was submerged in five feet of water in places. Great care was taken to salvage theatre and AV equipment from total loss due to the high levels of humidity. In addition to the auditorium, the gymnasium floor (which was currently undergoing renovations) was completed saturated in mud requiring hundreds of man-hours to manually clean mud and silt from the tracks in the floor. The music, science and computer tech rooms along with the automotive and woodshop bays were affected by silt and very high humidity levels. In these areas, UDK took special care to cure the rust problems already taking place by using water displacing oils to treat for moisture intrusion. This essentially saved CSD hundreds of thousands of dollars by not requiring total replacement of high-tech equipment.
Job Recognition:
With three weeks prior to summer break ending, UDK was up against a tight deadline to mitigate this large mud flood damage caused by the sprinkler line break and ensure kids could return to school. Working crews through the night, UDK met the deadline and much to the student’s dismay, school was open on time!