Broken pipe damages Charlo gym floor

The Charlo gym was out of commission for about two weeks after a water pipe burst along the juncture between the old and new construction. While the new gym was undamaged, bathroom facilities in the building were closed down, and athletes and fans used the bathrooms in the junior high for volleyball games, or portable toilets during the home football game on Oct. 6.

According to Superintendent Steve Love, a custodian “heard something different” when he was checking the gym Oct. 2. “There's always ground water and there're some pumps that run the ground water out, but it was more than just the sump pumps running that caught his attention. “

They shut the water off for the facility and discovered that a water pipe running beneath the floor of the old gym had ruptured, perhaps due to settling between the old section and the new one, which was constructed about 12 years ago.

The water didn’t flow directly over the gym floor, but it did run through the stringers that support it, causing the floor to buckle. A restoration crew covered the floor with tarps and an array of fans in an effort to dry out the stringers and diminish water damage.

By last Thursday, the floor felt nearly smooth again, although Love noted, “you can kind of feel those little ridges and that's what they're worried about. Because if they didn't get it completely dry it'll start buckling up again.”

He was meeting with an insurance adjuster and a floor specialist last Friday to evaluate the extent of damage. “Do we need to replace the whole thing or do we fix it, sand it, repaint it?” A new floor would cost an estimated $250,000.

Meanwhile, new water lines have been installed that snake up the wall instead of underground.

Love was feeling very appreciative of his custodial crew for noticing, “hey something's not right. We’ve got water where it’s not supposed to be.”