Trustees debate details of exterior

A majority of hospital trustees seemed willing to accept the terms of a warranty with Lusker Masonry, Frontenac, and hope the worst of their worries are behind them.
From the get-go the tile and stonework on the face of the hospital have had issues with cracking and not adhering properly.
“Most of those have been replaced,” assured Tim Moore, project engineer with Murray Construction, who has oversight of the construction project.
“All masonry is going to have some cracks,” he told trustees Tuesday night.
Moore said the 10-year warranty, now in year two, primarily covers the stonework placed above the stone tiles.
“Any significant damage would be covered by the warranty,” Moore said.
Jay Kretzmeier, trustee, however, wanted more concrete terms.
“I don’t want to seem unreasonable but I’m still not at my comfort level,” Kretzmeier said, of what he viewed as an inordinate amount of cracked mortar between the tiles and stone.
Moore assured board members that no moisture was getting into the building through the stone exterior because of other layers of materials that seal the building from the outside elements.

MOORE continued down a punch list of items that either continue to be a problem or have cropped up since the hospital’s construction.
A few showers “weep” moisture, Moore said. “Perhaps it’s from deficient grout.”
Tile and grout representatives will meet Sept. 3 at the hospital to inspect the three showers.
Moore said a few windows also “show some wetness coming through;” the hardware on sliding doors “will be replaced,” and the floor in the surgery room is shifting “anywhere from 1/16th to 3/16th of an inch,” he said.
Massive pilings that extend down to limestone help support the foundation of the hospital. “We have a slab that is floating and something is pushing it up,” ever so slightly, Moore said.
“I would hope that Health Facilities Group (architects of the hospital) would report on this at next month’s meeting,” Moore said.
That shifting of the foundation may also be why multiple cracks in the drywall continue to occur, Moore said.

IN OTHER reports, board member Patti Boyd, rural Moran, mentioned she had been appointed to the community advisory committee of the REACH Healthcare Foundation in Kansas City.
Her primary responsibility will be to find candidates from the county to serve on the board of trustees of REACH, which helps fund health care initiatives aimed at the uninsured or under-insured.