GUILFORD – Concrete and excess moisture don’t mix, just ask the Town of Guilford. The combination has led to cracks in the concrete floor in the town’s new highway garage and, while the problem was identified a month and a half ago, they are still waiting for the project’s engineers to advise them on how to rectify the issue.
According to Building Committee Chairperson Sue McIntyre, the cracking is due to the presence of water under the vapor barrier which separates the concrete slab from an underlayer of gravel below. There was a month delay, she said, between the placing of the vapor barrier and when the floor was actually poured.
“In that time delay, the thinking is that’s when the water got in,” McIntyre told members of the Guilford town council at Wednesday night’s town meeting.
“Frost got through where there was no insulation,” explained Jeff Fuller from the Town Highway Department. As a result, hairline cracks appeared around the perimeter of the floor.
Keystone & Associates, the architectural consulting firm handling the project, was notified of the problem when it was first noticed, McIntyre said, but to date they have not received the firm’s recommendation for “appropriate remediation steps.”
“We’re going to try to get action out of Keystone this week,” said McIntyre.
Town Highway Superintendent Bob Fleming expressed his frustration over the delayed response from the consultants.
“They’ve known for 6 weeks now that it’s been cracked. ... I just think it’s taking them way too long to get an answer to us,” he said.
Town Councilman Bruce Winsor suggested that Keystone was trying to be thorough with their analysis in response to requests by the town for the firm to take the lead role with happenings at the job site.
According to Clerk of the Works Brian Treffeisen, the cracking has caused no immediate delay to the project timeline. That could change when contractors are ready to start work on the building’s mezzanine level, which could be as early as next week.
The good news is that the cracks are not increasing in size. In fact, Treffeisen said that since temporary heat has been turned on in the building the floor has started to settle and the cracks have gotten smaller in width.
“Hopefully we won’t have any more cracking,” he said.
The Town Hall portion of the project is another story entirely. “It’s moving right along,” reported Treffeisen. All the interior walls have been painted, some of the wood trim has been stained, the bathrooms have been tiled, lights have been installed and the temporary heating has been removed. “We’re running right off the (permanent) units,” he explained.
The remainder of the trim and cabinets are expected to arrive next week, Treffeisen added. He also reported that the contractors will hold off on installing carpet in the building until more of the site work surrounding the building can be completed, to avoid tracking in dirt and debris from outside.
According to Treffeisen, he’d like to see the Town Hall move in ready as soon as possible but his real priority will be focusing on the Highway Garage.