subject: Leaks Damage Historic Buildings [print this page] Many historic buildings have been in the news recently because they have suffered damage from water intrusion.
Vancouver's Bentall Three Tower is the most recent building to suffer extensive leak damage. The Bentall Tower complex was built in the 1970s and makes up the center of Vancouver's business district. A burst pipe flooded some 18 floors of the tower causing work on all floors below the 18th floor (where the leak occurred) to grind to a halt for several days. Not only does the city of Vancouver have to contend with the cost of repairing the leaky plumbing, it also has to restore the 18 damaged floors. The cost from lost productivity in the tower, which houses some of Canada's biggest companies, is yet to be determined but will probably be high.
Water intrusion damaged New York University's library in early spring causing damage, disruption and much annoyance to the student body. The leak occurred at finals time and happened in the university's math library. Unfortunately some rare textbooks and documents were damaged and it is unclear whether all can be replaced. For students studying for their finals the water leak was a huge inconvenience. Thankfully the school was able to have most of the building up and running in a day, but the cost of restoration was high.
These are two of the highest profile leak cases but roof leaks, leaky plumbing and other house leaking problems damage historic buildings all the time. Many structures built in the 1800s and 1900s have not had their piping replaced in over 50 years. When leaking occurs it can damage the building's original brick and wood. The cost of repairing the pipe, drying the building, and checking for mold and mildew can add up. The costs get especially high when dealing with historic buildings that need to be restored to their original greatness.
These disasters can all be prevented with routine water leak detection. If you live in a historic home, or just don't want to see your home damaged, you should have routine leak inspections done. They will be able to detect the problem before it becomes a costly and destructive mess. If you see the telltale signs of water leaking like mold, moisture and paint buckling, call a water leak detection service at once.
It is a shame when a building, historic or otherwise, is damaged because of negligence. Leak detection is cheap and can prevent a lot of damage. More people should take advantage of it.
