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Gym wall crack: 'Sky not falling'
News · January 22, 2015


OPN architectural firm's Tony Pins said the "control joint … did exactly what it was supposed to do" to help the new gymnasium at West Branch High School settle, Superintendent Kevin Hatfield said, regarding a crack in the eastern wall.


However, there still remains a concern about a crack that appears around the "steel header" around the top of the exterior doorway.

Hatfield said Pins told him that "buildings always move" after construction and the long crack up the wall to the ceiling likely will only need caulk.

Hatfield said the gymnasium will likely need to be re-caulked every two to three years as part of general maintenance.

As far as the crack around the doorway, the superintendent believes that Garling Construction will likely make the necessary repairs, possibly by cutting the stone around the doorway and resetting it.

"The sky's not falling," he said.