Roofers have completed repairs to McKenzie Hall’s roof in an effort to stop repeated leaks in the fourth floor Social Science Instructional Labs.
Three contractors from Umpqua Roofing Company finished patching up new cracks that developed over the summer and caused several inundations, including one that filled the lab with an inch of water. They also removed the rocks from the roof to inspect all of the seams for possible leaks.
“They responded really, really quickly,” said Cathleen Leue, director of the lab.
She said the University’s response was wonderful following an Oct. 14 ODE article that discussed the problem (“McKenzie’s roof causes recurring lab floods”).
McKenzie Hall received a new roof in 1989, but the rubber roof was attached to the walls in what was later discovered to be an inefficient way. Although the same rubber is still used, construction crews no longer secure the large sheets of rubber in the same manner.
The rubber covering expands during the summer and contracts during cool weather, forming tiny cracks.
Associate Dean of Sciences Dietrich Belitz, who oversees physical issues for the college, said that they were aware of the problem, but a permanent solution was difficult.
“The way it works is that if you have a problem with the building, you let facilities go and they come and they fix it,” Belitz said. “Just like with any building project sometimes it works right away and sometimes it doesn’t work right away … and I guess this was in the latter category.”
Greg Haider, a Facilities Services maintenance team supervisor, said Measure 5, passed in 1991, and other budgets cuts have required the University to prioritize repairs and required Facilities Services to work with a smaller staff.
“Ever since Measure 5, we’re in the same boat as a lot of other institutions,” said Haider. “We have a backlog of maintenance for hundreds of millions of dollars – not just the University, but total, all the university systems … they’ve had to cut back on a lot of the dollars, and what tends to happen is that maintenance is cut first.”
The University has more than 60 acres of rooftops, and Facility Services strives to re-roof 45,000 square feet of roofs per year – so that each roof is replaced at least every 20 years – but that doesn’t help with immediate problems, Haider said.
“That doesn’t take into account where you have to prioritize … when we get to the end of the life of a lot of our buildings, that’s when we have to try to get a little bit more life out of another one so we can replace it with one that’s a higher priority,” he said.
Ron Bloom, operations manager for Facility Services, said Facility Services decides years in advance which roofs will be repaired, and McKenzie is not slated for a new roof until 2007.
“McKenzie was not on our radar when we allocated capital to repair them,” he said.
He added that Klamath Hall is the only building slated for a new roof next year.
According to Haider, each roof is inspected at least twice a year.
“When you only have one person and all that roof to do, it’s hard to get up there more than that, but we try to do it, especially at this time of year,” he said.
Bloom said that McKenzie is a particularly difficult roof to maintain. It’s weighted down with rocks so that the wind doesn’t lift
the large rubber sheet, so all stones must be removed before any repairs can be made. Additionally, there are several protrusions, such as poles and ducts where cracks easily form.
Haider said that because Facility Services is responsible for maintaining heat, water, steam, electricity, mechanical functioning and landscaping for all academic buildings on campus, there are many problems that need attention besides roofs.
Facility Services lacks one of its two roofers, who is in New Orleans doing reconstruction work following Hurricane Katrina.
Garron Hale, assistant director of the lab, said he understood the school’s motivation in not immediately replacing the roof.
“The school has to budget, and the roof is going to cost a tidy sum,” he said. “They need to plan for a big expense, so maybe that’s why they’re planning it for 2007.”
When asked about the tentative re-roofing, Leue said it’s acceptable.
“I think if it gets done in 2007, I will be very happy,” she said. “They’ve been patching and patching, and they are always very responsive, but I think in the end the roof has to go. That will solve the problem.”
Hale agreed and added that he hopes re-roofing will end the problem.
“I just hope it’s not another rubber roof,” he said.

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