I need to go back and read the history of the building and site more thoroughly, but I think I recall that the building was initially built in the first quarter of the 20thC. - there have been multiple adjacent buildings built both before and after this one that have been used as school buildings. One of the ladies at work (the administrative assistant in the office, who is a grandmother of two and probably in her sixties) said her mother went to school in this building.
Problems:
-There is asbestos wrap on a pipe in the crawlspace
-There is lead-based paint in presumably every room in the building
-The roof is leaking - apparently only at the transition from shallow to steep pitch of the mansard
-Plaster (water damaged from the roof leaks) is caving in in multiple locations
-The floors, not designed or built to support rows of books are sagging big-time on the first floor
-Many of the exterior wall inside the building are badly damaged by moisture which has seeped in through the solid masonry load-bearing walls
-Most of masonry joints outside are deteriorating (we are going to have the entire exterior repointed - the joints will be ground down to an inch deep then refilled with new mortar)
[this post sat in my 'draft' queue for far too long - just need to get this off my list of things to do since construction is starting this weekend - I'll update this soon. In the meantime, there is an album of photo of the Library up on my flickr page.]
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No wonder this library needs a renovation. These problems must be fixed quickly in order to avoid hassles and maintain safety - especially for the students and visitors that will come.
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