Robert Brady, with Geissler Roofing Company Inc., puts away his tools due to the rain delay on Thursday Oct. 29 outside the Sverdrup building.
Despite October being the rainiest in St. Louis history, the work that began on the roof of Webster University's Sverdrup building in late September is still on schedule to be finished by the end of 2009, according to David Stone, director of facilities planning and management.
"They're moving along faster than they thought they would," Stone said.
The Geissler Roofing crew has been working on the weekends to avoid falling behind in the more than 9.5 inches of rain the St. Louis area had. The previous record for rainfall in a St. Louis October was 8.52 inches in 1919.
"They got the area over the entrance stripped over the weekend so they didn't have to leave it blocked off," Stone said.
The new roof, which will cost WU $1 million, is being replaced due to faulty materials and because the roof was leaking in several places. The old roof also has encapsulated asbestos in it, which is not harmful as long as it's handled correctly.
Stone said the material on the roof was so brittle that if you went on the roof to try and fix a leak, you would break even more shingles.
The company that installed the previous roof, just over 20 years ago, has since gone out of business. The roof was supposed to last 50 years.
Many students said they weren't bothered by the roofing construction during midterm week.
Callie Jayne, a junior advertising major said even though she had class in the section of Sverdrup that was being worked on, she didn't notice the construction.
The biggest inconvenience of the roofers is the loading zone being blocked off, junior psychology major David Vergano said.
One or two roofers may be working on the roof even when it is raining, but their work will be limited.
"The main shingle work can't be going on, but the sheet metal work, like gutters, can be going on in light rain," Stone said.
The roof is approximately 30 to 40 percent finished, and is still on schedule to be finished by the end of the calendar year, Stone said.