Water damage mounting at Opera House
The stairwells leading up to the stage of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House have suffered water damage over recent years. The problem recently came up at a Fredonia Village Board meeting.
Water damage can also be seen along the bricks near the ceiling of the stairwell.
The stairwells leading up to the stage of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House have suffered water damage over recent years. The problem recently came up at a Fredonia Village Board meeting.
Water damage can also be seen along the bricks near the ceiling of the stairwell.
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The 1891 Fredonia Opera House has been battling water damage issues for years, and after comments made by a volunteer at a recent Fredonia Village Board meeting, the issues are getting the village's attention.
During the designated time for public comments at the recent Village Board meeting, Richard Ketcham described the worsening situation at the Opera House, one of the village's most treasured buildings.
"It ain't going to get any better," Ketcham said.
Dan Allen, Technical Director of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House, recently contacted Ketcham about the damage at the Fredonia Opera House. Ketcham came down to take a look and found multiple areas of concern.
Two stairwells of the Opera House have suffered what Ketcham called "water intrusion," leading to plaster crumbling from the walls. The extensive damage is along both stairwells leading from the downstairs dressing rooms up to the stage.
"It could be something simple, like where the down spouts connect to the gutters, it could just be an issue there that could be easily addressed," said Rick Davis, 1891 Fredonia Opera House Executive Director. "That would be nice, if it's a simple fix."
At the recent meeting, Ketcham estimated there was a two-inch hole around the down spout preventing it from receiving water properly. There were gaps at other spots throughout the Yankee Gutter system, as well. Due to those factors, water has been traveling down the side of the building, leading to the damage that is evident in both stairwells.
A portion of one of the gutters was reconnected when Ketcham and his group of volunteers noticed the issues, but more extensive work will need to be done to address the damage already caused and to keep the issues from recurring. Ketcham is concerned about damage that could be done to new high-cost windows that were recently installed.
Ketcham said previous repairs to the roof of the building were done six to seven years ago, and he believed at the time that the installation of new gutters would alleviate the previous water intrusion concerns. Apparently, that was not the case.
"It was my impression that those gutters were going to take the water away from the building and solve this problem. But in fact, I can't say it's any better," Ketcham said.
Davis noted issues with the Yankee Gutter system were corrected by Farrell Roofing after its last repair. The gutters are what Davis believes have led to the issues, as opposed to the roof itself.
Regarding the previous repair, Ketcham said, "Bottom line is, it wasn't done right. I don't know what type of guarantees, if any ... what type of warranty we got, if any ... but someone may want to look at it."
Farrell Roofing has a maintenance contract with the village, so the Opera House contacted village Department of Public Works Supervisor Scott Marsh to ask Farrell Roofing for assistance. Davis said Farrell Roofing will assess the damage and see what can be done to address the matter.
"The village has always been pretty responsive to issues like this for us. We appreciate their attention to things when the issues arise," Davis said.