The cost of flooring in the Emporia High School locker room project rose by more than $45,700 this morning during a special meeting of the Emporia Board of Education at the district office.
Architect Dave Emig recommended the change order after contractors raised concerns about the long-term feasibility of the epoxy flooring Emig had included in the original plans.
In a letter to Susan Hernandez, assistant superintendent, Emig wrote that the general contractor, Rinner Construction of Topeka, and the flooring subcontractor, Desco Coatings, told him they were concerned about “the ability of the epoxy flooring to be a completely satisfactory flooring solution for this major renovation.”
Emig said that the demolition and patching in the existing slab for a new plumbing line could allow moisture to be trapped by the epoxy, which could cause blistering. Epoxy creates a vapor barrier so moisture cannot escape.
After partitions were removed, floors also were found to be somewhat uneven and would require a strip of floor-leveling compound as a transitional strip between those floor areas. Those transitional areas could be seen underneath epoxy flooring, Emig said in the letter.
Emig said there was a “high likelihood that the epoxy flooring will perform well and not experience any problems.” If there were problems, however, “it would be a very difficult and costly problem to solve after the locker rooms are occupied.”
Emig recommended replacing the epoxy flooring with more-expensive ceramic tile, which is vapor-permeable. The cost of ceramic tile “was an important reason for selecting the epoxy flooring at the time of design and bidding,” he said.
Any repairs that might have to be done, however, would be easy to see within the epoxy flooring.
At the meeting this morning, the board voted 6-0 to approve the change order for a total of $45,766. Four members — Jerry Fair, Homer Garza, Mike Crouch and Kevin Nelson — attended the meeting in person. Board President Grant Riles conducted the meeting through the speaker phone on Superintendent John Heim’s Blackberry cell phone system, and Mary Helmer joined the meeting via Hernandez’s cell phone. Interim board member Carol Schaefer was not present.
Some members were not eager to make the change, which may cause the project to fall behind its timeline for completion.
Garza said that he did not intend to be critical of the architectural firm, but added, “This change in the flooring, couldn’t you have seen that before?”
Peter Hauff, representing Emig, said that an alternative solution, repairing existing ceramic floors, had been eliminated as an option because matching tiles could not be found. Potential plumbing problems, such as rusty pipes, have been noticed as the project progressed. The epoxy flooring earlier had seemed a reasonable choice.
“Looking at the other options, we deemed it would be the best option at the time,” Hauff said.
Heim joined Hernandez in recommending the board approve the change order.
“I think we need to err on the side of safety with this one,” Heim said.