Snowpocalypse Leads to a Dilemma: Repair or Replace?

The damage done to UCC’s campus brought on by the snowpocalypse three months ago led to a dilemma about the hole in the bookstore roof: Repair or Replace?

UCC’s school board decided to remove the roof due to the internal damage to the building beyond the hole in the roof as well as a desire to strengthen the roof for future storms.

During the process of repair, students and staff only saw the external reconstruction of the roof by Roseburg Roofing and Steve Songer Construction, who provided their services as well. Limb Walkers Tree Services also removed the tree off the roof as part of their work with all campus tree removal.

More than the roof had to be rebuilt, however, because of bookstore water damage. ServPro assisted with this water mitigation.

As of now, the roof is the only part of the reconstruction that is still in process. The roof has been replaced. Next step is the rafter tails and gutters. The board hopes for this to be completed before graduation.

The board found replacing the roof to be more of a benefit for the College roof instead of patching a section. The investment in replacing the entire roof was an opportunity to take advantage of the repairs that needed to be done and make the building more durable than it was prior to the snow storm. As the board and Jess Miller, Director of Facilities, have been tending to the bookstore, they have been estimating the cost for insurance to reimburse the college. Miller assures that “insurance has been notified, and they have been easy to work with.”

Redoing the building entirely was briefly mentioned as an option but quickly rejected not the best option for the school, as they were not in the position for that kind of investment.

The biggest issue that Miller has seen through the rebuilding of the bookstore is the inconvenience: “We don’t like to inconvenience our students.  Even though we’ve gone to great extents to keep the area safe and keep noise to a minimum, it is a construction zone and it can be stressful to students’ trying to achieve their goals for the year.”

Even though the construction is not being done at the best time imaginable, Miller wanted to point out all the support that he has seen from the students, staff and construction crew. “Everyone has been very patient and conscientious about their surroundings. Construction crews have been diligent about keeping everyone on the ground safe,” Miller said.

The decision of whether or not to patch the roof or replace it was not easy and took a lot of consideration. “The college should appreciate the foresight of the President, CFO and Board of Education for making a level of financial commitment to replace a failing roof system.  In the wake of a tragic event, the opportunity presented itself, and our administrative team responded without hesitation to invest in something that will last for many years to come,” Miller said.