“My apartment had a ton of flooding from the ceiling and the bottom of the walls. It leaked from the laundry room, my roommate’s bathroom ceiling, and the baseboard in front of the AC unit,” said Auggie Pergerson, a resident in Thaddeus Seymour Hall.
After an AC pipe burst in Lakeside Neighborhood at the start of the month, The Sandspur sent a form to students, allowing Lakeside residents to share how they were affected by water damage and ongoing repairs. Seven Lakeside residents responded to the form, with some requesting to be quoted anonymously.
“From the initial water leak all the way to the drying process, it has been very stressful and loud. Studying in my room has been almost impossible with the noise from the fans. Luckily, there are lots of nice places to study on campus that I took full advantage of,” said Pergerson.
Another student, living on the second floor of Seymour said, “My roommates and the people across the hall had to put trashcans out to try and catch the water as well as sweep the water out of the hallway down the ramp by the esports room.”
On what it was like during repairs, Pergerson said, “It started with fans and dehumidifiers. It was extremely loud and everyone pretty much avoided the common area at all cost. Finally, we are down to no fans in the common area, though 1-2 bathrooms still have a fan to try and get rid of the moisture. If things are not dry enough though, they may cut out and replace some drywall in one of the bathroom. All the baseboards have been removed, as well, where the water touched.”
A student living on the second floor of Bornstein said, “People have been coming in and tearing out crown molding, moving our fridge to drill holes in the wall, and stuck 3 loud dehumidifiers in our room.”
Several students complained about the impact of noise created by fans and drilling. One summarized, “Loud and annoying. Constant noise. No peace.” Another decided to stay with a friend over the weekend to avoid the sound of the fans.
Cash Volpe, a Seymour resident, reported, “I have been mostly unaffected besides having to use a different exit while water was actively pouring out of the ceiling and walking past loud fans in the hallways. Thankfully, I did not have any damage in my apartment since we are on the 5th floor.”
On. Feb. 13, Facilities Services and the Office of Residence Life reported that all work related to removing water‑damaged materials was completed. An email sent to students read, “All wet drywall and insulation have been removed and replaced, and final cleaning has been completed. This phase is 100% finished.”
The message also mentioned that all construction work, “including final carpet cleaning in hallways and other affected common areas,” was estimated to be completed by Wednesday, Feb. 18.
In their most recent update, on Feb. 17, Facilities Services and the Office of Residence Life reported that contractors were still on schedule to complete their work by Feb. 18, including carpet cleaning.
The Feb. 17 update announced that cover base installation was “basically done,” painting is moving floor by floor, ceiling tiles are partly installed (with special ones still on order), and that final touch ups were ongoing. The email concluded with the following next steps listed:
- Finish hallway painting on 2nd & 1st floors.
- Start installing toe kicks.
- Continue touch‑ups and final details.
- Install specialty ceiling tiles when they arrive.
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