THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510240126
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jon Glass
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
The cost of repairing the brick facade at Blair Middle School is expected to run about $250,000 over the amount budgeted for the job, administration officials are saying.
Unforeseen problems encountered since work began last summer have added about $100,000 to the price tag, said Rex Gay, the school plant facilities senior director.
Some of the additional costs were to remove asbestos discovered under the roof flashing, to fill in several irregular sections found under the brick veneer with cinder blocks, and to install iron shelf angles needed to hold the brick wall in place, Gay said.
From the start of the project, money has been a problem. It actually started in the hole: the low bid came in at $657,000, well over the $500,000 that City Council gave to the School Board last spring to fix the building.
Deputy Superintendent J. Frank Sellew said the overrun likely will be paid for with anticipated year-end savings from capital projects and operations.
The structural problem at Blair was discovered last winter after school officials noticed that sections of the brick facade had separated from the building's concrete structure and were in danger of collapsing.
A cheaper option to repair the 1922-era building using stucco instead of bricks - estimated at $400,000 - was considered and rejected by the School Board last May. The more expensive option was chosen because board members decided they wanted to save the aging building.
Eventually, the School Board agreed, the school will be renovated like Maury High rather than replaced by a new building. So it made sense, they reasoned, to use bricks.
Gay said the repair work, under contract with Marshall Meredith Inc. of Norfolk, could be completed by the end of December. by CNB