Floor replacement at Washington Elementary to be completed by start of school year | News, Sports, Jobs

Superintendent Brad Silver holds a piece of the original flooring with a signature dated May 17, 1913.
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)

The floors at Washington Elementary are being replaced after two different water pipe leakages and are on track to be completed before the start of the upcoming school year, school officials announced.

Water pipes froze and burst on Dec. 27, 2022. Water started flooding in the upstairs girls bathroom, went into the hallway, and leaked through the ceiling onto the first floor. Darrell Prim, facilities and transportation manager for Marietta City Schools, said the leak was discovered a couple hours after it happened. Staff took a week to clean up the damage. He said school wasn’t disrupted since it occurred during Christmas break.

The floors warped from the water damage. Prim said plywood was used to level the floors and covered sections of the floors with safety tape until new materials could be ordered.

Prim, Superintendent Brad Silvus, and Treasurer Frank Antill worked with an insurance adjuster to evaluate the damage costs. Prim also sought out preliminary quotes from different contractors for price comparison before sending the project out for an official bid.

Then on April 25, air in the water pipes contributed to another break in an upstairs classroom. School was canceled for one day while staff assessed the damage and cleaned it up.

Installation of new flooring at Washington Elementary School is aiming to finish the week before school starts, said owner Wayne Wilfong of River Valley Hardwood Flooring Plus.
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)

River Valley Hardwood Flooring Plus was chosen as the contractor for the installation through a bidding process. Owner Wayne Wilfong said they started installing flooring on July 18. He and his crew started in two first floor classrooms, then worked their way out into the hallway.

Prim said the first floor was started first due to another project working on the school’s roof.

“The biggest obstacle was working around other projects like fixing the roof on the building,” he said.

Wilfong said he is aiming to have the installation done around Aug. 18, prior to students returning to school the next week.

Prim said he was pleased with the progress of the floor installation and expressed appreciation to Washington Elementary staff and students for their cooperation.

“It looks awesome. Staff and students worked with us as this was going on,” he said. “They made it through the end of the year last year.”

“It may not seem like a lot, but it’s a big deal to us,” Silvus said.

Silvus said while workers were removing the old floorboards, one piece was found to have been signed and dated May 17, 1913. The Washington Elementary building was built in 1911.

“We had some of our staff sign the new floorboards in case the new floor is pulled up in 100 years,” he said.