Beta Sigma Psi - Purdue University

BETA RAYS A PUBLICATION OF BETA SIGMA PSI AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY SUMMER 2023 Where Were You During the Christmas Flood of 2022?! Where Were You During the Christmas Flood of 2022?! A RECAP OF THE EVENT AND AN UPDATE TO TODAY T he call came around 11 a.m. the day after Christmas. It was a West Lafayette fireman who started by saying I was listed as an emergency contact. My pulse rose. The fireman said we had a flood in the Chapter House: water was all over the first floor and had traveled to the basement. Evidently, a smoke alarm in the basement was drowned, tripping the fire alarm. Believing the leak was coming from behind the north sink in the kitchen, the fireman closing the shutoffs underneath seemed to stop it. Given the recent sub-zero cold snap, we both reasoned it was a freeze break. Phew. This sounded bad, but things can always be worse—at least it wasn't a fire. ASSESSING THE DAMAGE I, unfortunately, live a couple hours south, and the house was vacant for Christmas. I called David Gross '08, who stopped by the building to investigate. David called me back with his findings, including: • About 1/4 inch of water on the dining room floor. • Carpet in the Schmidt Room soaked. • Water streaming out of light fixtures to everywhere in the basement. • The room they now call "H**l" (aka Helifino) was bad—the ceiling starting to buckle, the floor was soaked, and the couch was ruined. • The living room appeared dry. FINDING FIXERS After that, I got busy with texts and calls. Many businesses were closed that Monday, so I didn't connect quickly. I found a remediation contractor and a general contractor that were both available. Even though I hadn't worked with either, they accepted my word and were willing to make repairs on an expedited schedule. I also reached our plumber, who was able to dispatch a man the following day to repair leaks. Maintenance VP Matt Millies '21 was my next contact, and he acted quickly to notify the actives. We both wanted them to know what to expect when they came back. PUTTING IN THE WORK Work started in earnest the next few days. Stanley Steemer brought commercial wet vacs and blowers and picked up all the standing water. They left blowers on the Schmidt Room carpet for a day or so, and it dried out satisfactorily. Matt and three more brothers arrived at the Chapter House Tuesday afternoon to prepare for the general contractor to arrive. They emptied personal goods from affected rooms, removed light fixtures, assessed damage, and took pictures of the problems. The plumber arrived to repair the piping in the kitchen; he had to cut through the pantry and kitchen drywall to get to it. The general contractor (GC) started on Thursday with demolition. The focus was on the Hell room, but they quickly moved from there into the main basement, removing any remaining ceiling fixtures and ripping out ceiling drywall. ASSESSING THE DAMAGE AGAIN I made it there on New Years Eve to meet with the GC. We looked over our progress and discussed the bar room, which had not been touched yet. Water tracks were on the walls, and the drywall was soft. It was evident the walls needed to come out. The bar top the pledge class of 1979 installed was swollen at the seams. Sadly, it would need replacing as well. We also looked at the AVR (aka TV room) floor. Both the carpet and vinyl-plank flooring needed to be replaced, and we discussed subcontracting that. Given the damp floor in the AVR and all the moisture in the bar room, we agreed to have Stanley Steemer return with dehumidifiers. INSURANCE CLAIM AND WHAT'S LEFT Jeff Williams '09 made an insurance claim and let us know that the adjuster could not look at the house until January 4. We operated until then on faith that our policy would cover the damage and make us whole. We carry a policy with a $5,000 deductible, and long story short, it appears our insurer will cover all our other expenses, even covering lost personal property in room Hell. I am pleased to report that almost everything was restored as of February 3. Remaining work includes the bar top and AVR floor. TAKING TIME FOR THANKS The actives were extremely gracious and persistent through all the needed work, from moving furniture back and forth to painting the basement walls once the new drywall was finished. All I heard was the Per Aspera Ad Astra attitude; I am proud of their response. I am also grateful to: • Jeremy Facemeyer of Boiler Heating and Cooling, who responded to my first panicky texts and hooked me up with contractors who could respond right away. It's good to have him in my contacts. • Josh Kenyon of Kenyon Construction, our GC. Josh served as my local agent and helped me with many decisions. • Todd Yeoman of Stanley Steemer, who got us dried out. • The Kuns family of Wolf Corporation, our plumbers. • Cody Gillette, our adjuster with McClarens, who has been great to work with. CAN YOU HELP US? If you are able, we'd appreciate your financial support to replace the $5,000 hit we took for the insurance deductible. We're also trying to fund a floor and ceiling renovation of the dining room—we were very close to that with Vision Ad Astra dollars, but the Christmas flood set us back significantly. Direct donations can be made to: Lafayette Alumni Chapter, Beta Sigma Psi PO Box 2081 West Lafayette, IN 47996-2081 Donation can be sent using the envelope provided in this newsletter Thanks for reading this new Beta Rays and for any help you can provide. Stop by the house and see the updates the next time you're in the area! Fraternally, Mark H. Kramer '80, Facilities Director (812) 249-2175 mhkramer553@gmail.com | mkramer@hepn.com Brothers at our latest Membership Education Forum.

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