Middle School Suffers Widespread Water Damage In Recent Storm

Wayland Public Buildings Director John Moynihan said he knew it was going to be a long day when his phone started ringing at 6:30 a.m. last week.

A short while later, he arrived at Wayland Middle School to find that the windy storm of the day before had pushed buckets of rain through the temporary joint where the building's old roof meets the new roof in the process of being replaced.

The breach happened in the school's cafeteria and dripping water found its way across the large wooden stage located there. Moynihan said he has already met with the insurance adjuster for Capeway Roofing Systems, the firm contracted to replace the aging roof, and the process of refinishing the floor of the stage will get underway soon.

But the storm wasn't quite finished with WMS.

On the other side of the building, in what he believes is the eighth grade wing, Moynihan found that the old roof -- the one in the process of being replaced -- finally gave out.

Moynihan pointed to a line of windows high above a common area and said it appeared that the flashing where the roof meets the windows simply failed, allowing rain into the building and leaving a soggy mess behind.

Now, as crews continue their regular project of replacing nearly 99,000 square feet of the WMS roof, other crews are tearing out some walls and ceiling tiles, doing their best to dry saturated carpets and just otherwise recover from the rainy mishap. In all, Moynihan said, it appears nine classrooms received damage ranging from minimal to major and a number of hallways and common areas are also in need of repair. 

This particular section of water damage falls under the town's insurance policy since it occurred away from where roofing crews are currently working. Moynihan expects to receive a damage estimate within the next day or two, but he is anticipating the claim to be in the $25,000-$35,000 range -- the higher end of that being a worse case scenario in which all the carpets need to be replaced, etc.

In spite of all the weather issues -- rain and extreme temperatures have plagued the roof replacement project -- Moynihan said he has been pleased with the work being done. He's hopeful the replacement will be completed around Aug. 23.

The interior repairs, he said, will be finished before schools reopen this fall.