A structural inspection of the Helena Flats School 6,300 SF gymnasium facility was conducted by structural engineer Mark Waatti of Waatti Engineering. The subsequent Structural Inspection report submitted to the Helena Flats School district by Waatti Engineering on August 4th, 2009 confirmed the district’s concern that the gymnasium roof’s structural system was failing and that the current sizing of the structural members are undersized when fully loaded.
Waatti Engineering’s stated conclusion in the report, supported by both his calculations and visible evidence, is that the gymnasium roof structural framing system is undersized. Furthermore, Waatti Engineering is convinced that the roof structural framing system is “….at the risk of failure if it experiences the full anticipated dead load and snow load”. Due to life safety concerns, Waatti Engineering recommended that the gym roof be “retrofitted immediately per the recommendations of this report, and that the gym is not used during the winter months when it may experience the full anticipated snow loading”.
Subsequent to this report, the Helena Flats School District hired Waatti Engineering to develop design drawings which have now been prepared and contain the following remedial work scope:
{*} Protect the wood floor system in the gymnasium with soft filter fabric cloth and 1-1/8” plywood.
{*} Temporarily shore the main roof beams to protect against collapse during the winter months.
{*} Jack the five (5) main span beams back up to the camber of the original design intent prior to installing the new steel trusses.
{*} Removal of the existing electrical, lighting, low voltage, athletic equipment, and mechanical equipment necessary for structural renovation the roof system’s framing members.
{*} Demolition of the existing sheet rocked and painted roof finishes
{*} Removal of the existing roof’s batt insulation system
{*} Add a second (sister) 2X8 structural roof joist adjacent to each existing 2X10 roof joist on the four (4) roof bays between the main spanning glue-lams.
{*} Add ten (10) steel web trusses, one to each side of the existing five (5) glue-lams which are the main span members sized to carry the full dead, live, and snow load requirements of the gymnasium roof system.
{*} Provide hat track furring strips to the steel trusses with fire rated sheetrock to retain the code required 1-hour roof assembly rating.
{*} Install upgraded insulation and vapor barrier with an R-value meeting current energy codes.
{*} Install new fire rated sheetrock to the entire roof plane and truss retrofitted beam surfaces including tape, texture, and finishes.
{*} Reinstall all athletic equipment, mechanical equipment, and electrical wiring and lighting.
