The northeast retaining wall at Pottsgrove Middle School is streaked with white efflorescence, an indicator of moisture, in this November 2008 Post file photo.
POTTSTOWN PA – “Significant problems” with poor water drainage behind a retaining wall outside the cafeteria of the 11-year-old Pottsgrove Middle School, perched on a North Hanover Street ridge high above the Pottsgrove School District, will require the wall to be taken apart and rebuilt at a cost that’s “probably going to be painful,” the district Board of School Directors was told Tuesday (Sept. 28, 2010).
That assessment, offered by board treasurer and Facilities Committee Chairman Fred Remelius, follows committee discussions earlier in the night of a 20-page report, illustrated with color photographs, that documents the wall’s several structural failures and recommends fixes.
The white-topped, semi-circular retaining wall in front (right) of the Pottsgrove Middle School is seen in the top center portion of this Google photo. North Hanover Street is far right.
Ultimately, the report by a Lancaster PA engineering firm concludes, the retaining wall and its pilasters (columns) “have undergone significant water intrusion and subsequent deterioration.” There is no “feasible” way to dry the wall out and restore it, engineers noted, and it apparently is so far gone that it cannot be simply repaired and maintained.
District taxpayers likely will end up bearing the rebuilding cost, for which there was no immediately available estimate. “There’s no guarantee on a school building, and unfortunately these problems have surfaced more than 10 years down the road,” Remelius said.
The board took no action on the report. The wall’s structural problems seemingly pose no immediate danger to students occupying the building several feet behind it.
Problems with the retaining wall, which holds back earthen and other fill material in front of the school building, have been obvious for more than a year. The wall is buckling in some places, cracking in others, and is streaked with white efflorescence. The district hired structural engineers Baker, Ingram and Associates to review its condition during December (2009), and the firm returned in June (2010) for a more thorough inspection.
It determined that water over time has penetrated the wall, is even pooling behind it in some places, and has weakened its red-colored masonry veneer. Some of its steel components are rusting and flaking. Mortar joints are cracked, sealants are missing, and there are open joints around embedded railing posts topping the wall, the report said.
“The as-built construction of the retaining wall and pilaster is completely inadequate” to limit or release moisture or control water that gets into its components, according to the report. “There was probably a design defect to begin with,” Remelius acknowledged.
The report urges the district to address the problems soon. “If left unattended, these conditions will worsen and expand, resulting in more rapid deterioration, and the potential for partial collapse” of the veneer, the engineers warned.
Their report “does not address any other portion of the existing building structure,” they added.
Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Sept. 28 meeting):
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