Big water damage to several dorms

[bully99]

I warned about this several days ago. Looks like pretty severe water damage to three of the newest dorms on campus. Also looks like a lot of MSU athletes rooms might have been flooded. Really no excuse for this since the cold weather was predicted and the university should have taken precautions.

[Joe Schmedlap]

Which dorms were damaged?

[bully99]

Ruby, Oak and Magnolia, Ruby with the most severe damage per the university PR department.

[Joe Schmedlap]

Wow, that's turrible for an engineering school. I've got a kid living in Oak Hall. I guess a phone call to campus is in order for tomorrow.

[Harrydawg]

Ya know, sometimes this happens regardless of what you do or should have done - regardless of how smart you may be.

[TheRef]

What happened was the sprinkler system had not been tested at such a low temperature and burst. Nothing that the University could have done about it. This was a freak accident that was caused by the sprinkler system not being designed to handle that low of temperatures inside. You also have to take into consideration that these dorms were built in 9 months. Not much time to ensure that they are built like tanks such as Rice and the like.

[bully99]

But did they turn the heat off to save money. That's a question that should be asked.

[TheRef]

But did they turn the heat off to save money. That's a question that should be asked.

They had camps and they tell students to leave the rooms at no lower than 60 I believe.

[WinningIsRelentless]

What happened was the sprinkler system had not been tested at such a low temperature and burst. Nothing that the University could have done about it. This was a freak accident that was caused by the sprinkler system not being designed to handle that low of temperatures inside. You also have to take into consideration that these dorms were built in 9 months. Not much time to ensure that they are built like tanks such as Rice and the like.

The plans didn't call for wrapped pipes on the sprinkler system. All the standpipes are in the stairways so I bet they weren't heated and they forgot to open the doors to the main halls.

[EAVdog]

If those are the little wood framed 3B Construction Type Multi-Family Residential buildings then it could have been anything. Multi-Story wood framed construction (I am pretty sure they are stick framed) is just plagued with problems. Unfortunately it's not just an MSU problem, that crap is everywhere.

[DawgInMemphis]

Ya know, sometimes this happens regardless of what you do or should have done - regardless of how smart you may be.

Yeah, the pipes feeding our kitchen sink and washroom (both on an outside wall) froze some time during Monday night. This is with us leaving the cabinets open and having the heat up. In hindsight I guess I should have left the water dripping, but with the heat near 70 and the cabinets open I didn't think I'd have any issues. I guess that's what happens when the temp hovers around single digits for a couple of days. Thankfully caught it early and was able to thaw it out before anything ruptured.