The reconstruction of Naperville Central’s east wall has moved into its third stage after the Board of Education approved three bids during their Oct. 16 meeting. The repairs were made after rust was found on beams in July.
The three separate bids cost a combined $593,050, including masonry work totaling $317,000, window replacement totaling $233,300 and the installation of an air barrier totaling $42,750.
The masonry work and the installation of an air barrier are expected to be completed within the next two months. The installation of the windows is projected to take place next spring, although the exact date depends on manufacturing speeds.
In phase one of the repair project, the brick and windows of the eastern facing wall were removed. In phase two, an evaluation of the structural needs for the phase three build was undertaken. Some portions of phase three have already been completed.
“What they found was that the lintel plating was deformed a little bit,” said Mike Frances, District 203’s Chief Financial Officer. “It was caused by pack rust that was building up between the lintel plate and the I-beam. The pack rust got in there from water. That rust started to amass a little bit and it caused the lintel to break away from the I-beam.”
No beams or large structural supports will have to be replaced as a result of the rust build up.
“The beams are still structurally sound, they just had to remediate the rust,” Frances said. “The [lintel plate and I-beam] have to be re-welded together. So to do that, they had to first remediate all of the lead based paint on the I-beam. Once [the welding] is done they will recoat all of the steel.”
Included in the bids is the installation of a fluid applied air barrier, aimed at solving previous water leakage issues by filling in and smoothing out any areas of leaks, Frances said.
“There’s what’s known as concrete masonry units behind the face brick,” Frances said. “If you look at the exposed wall right now you can see it. The way they built this in 1950, it was very porous.”
