Melting Snow on the Flat Gym Roof Leaked into RM’s Gym and Warped the Floor

Richard Montgomery High School is in a new building that was completed in 2008.

Water damage leaves RM gymnasium out of commission

Winter Storm Jonas and its 30 inches of snow not only canceled MCPS schools for a week, it also closed Richard Montgomery High School’s main gymnasium for the foreseeable future. The melting snow on top of the flat gym roof leaked into RM’s gym and warped the wood playing surface in two places.
MCPS contractors will arrive this week to identify the exact location of the leak, and efforts are already underway to repair the gym’s playing surface.
“When water sits on wood, it soaks it up and then it expands. And when it expands, there’s no room for it to expand, so the wood just rose. It either warps or it bubbles up,” RM athletic director Chamy Wijeratne said.
Part of RM’s wooden floor warped while another part of the floor bubbled up. MCPS employees have applied heated blankets that absorb the moisture, and dry the wood. Certain parts of the floor were irreparable and will be cut out and replaced, the athletic director further explained. The recovery period has been estimated to last for three weeks.

Winter sports teams at RM will not be able to use the gym during the rehabilitation process. Wrestling, cheerleading, and POMs all cannot compete at home. For the varsity basketball teams, all games have been moved to the away high schools until the gym is done, which depends on how long it takes the moisture to leave the wood. JV basketball games at RM have simply been canceled...

 http://www.thermtide.com/2016/02/03/water-damage-leaves-rm-gym-out-of-commission/

Photo by Tide photographer Kevin Pan