Peggy Revell
Originally slated to be completed by the New Year, reconstruction of the J.W. Walker School gymnasium now is expected to be finished by the end of January.
“The original completion date was at the end of December [but] the contractor needed another month,” explained Raymond Roy, manager of plant operations and maintenance for the Rainy River District School Board.
“There’s a shortage of skilled trades around and it reflected on our project.”
“The main thing was bricklayers,” Roy noted.
“[The contractor] couldn’t get enough bricklayers in town to get that job done, so that did delay it for about a month.”
Roy stressed there will be no additional costs to the board because of the delay.
The gymnasium was destroyed back in February following a late-night gas leak and fire at the school. Demolition was finished by the beginning of September, followed by reconstruction work.
“They’ve got the roof on, and the brickwork is about 90 percent complete,” said Roy. “So all the sheet metal guys will be there now, completing all the exterior sheet metal work.
“And in the meantime, they’ll get some heat inside and start the mechanical electrical stuff inside,” he added.
Roy said what’s left is completion of the roof, bricklaying, and interior (things like flooring, painting, electrical, and mechanical).
