Unfinished roof creates 'waterfall,' floods Lincoln Middle School library

STANFORD — Friday the 13th was not a good day for the Lincoln County Middle School library.

Middle School Principal Debbie Sims said when she walked into the library July 13, she was met with a beautiful yet chaotic scene, as water poured over the library windows “like a waterfall” and rain drained into the library through ceiling tiles and light fixtures.

"It was a mess," she said. "When you looked out those windows, it was water. You could not see out."

P.D. Roller, head of school facilities, said roofers left gutters off a high roof and failed to seal off the edge of a rubber covering on a lower roof, allowing heavy rains to pour off the higher roof and through the lower roof edge into the library.

The company in charge of the roofing job, Burnett Sons Roofing, has been very cooperative and helpful in the aftermath, agreeing to cover the costs of all repairs and replacements, Sims said.

While the library houses about 10,000 books, only about 100 of those were affected. Sims said the real damage was to the ceiling, walls and floors.

School staff, including Sims, attempted to get some water out of the library with a wet/dry vacuum while the rain was still coming down, but in some places the water pooled as deep as one inch.

Some of the carpet could not be dried enough to be salvaged and has been removed, Sims said.

"I've been here for 20 years and this building has always leaked," she said. "But this was excessive."

Some bookshelves have been covered with tarps while construction workers replace drywall and ceiling tiles, while a lot of the library contents have been moved into the hallway during repairs.

Sims said the school is currently in the process of picking out carpet and paint samples for finishing the restoration. In the end, the water damage will actually result in a "modest makeover" for the library, she said.

There was no estimate available for how much repairs would cost.