Residence hall renovations will last until at least next year

Roofs and elevators in high-rise dorms are being redone as part of a series of UNC housing capital projects — major ventures that each cost over half a million dollars.

Roof replacement is underway at Ehringhaus, while Hinton James elevators are being significantly renovated.

“This is a normal life cycling of maintenance projects that need to be done on a cycle of repair, just like air conditioners and other major systems that operate the buildings,” said Rick Bradley, associate director of UNC Housing and Residential Education.

Bradley said the dorms were built in the 1960s and major renovations are needed to maintain the residents’ quality of life.

“You have to do it or you eventually run the risk of having a major problem that you might have to relocate 600 residents if you had a roof failure,” he said.

Last year, the roof was replaced at Craige Residence Hall due to active leaks, and Craige’s elevators were also renovated. Starting in fall 2017, Carmichael Residence Hall will undergo the same projects.

UNC facilities architect Tom Loter said roof projects take anywhere from 100 to 120 days. Hinton James’ roof will be replaced once the construction at Ehringhaus is complete. The elevator projects will also occur in phases — Hinton James’ should be completed by August 2017, while the renovations on the Ehringhaus elevators will begin soon and should be done by April 2017.

“The elevators have dated controls and older equipment, and I think frequently break down or frequently need maintenance,” Loter said. “The parts are difficult to get as well, so the purpose to modernize these elevators is to get more readily available parts and better control systems.”

Lindsay Hoyt, a first-year resident living in Ehringhaus, said the noisy construction has disturbed her and her suitemates. She said they were given no prior notice about the project.

“A lot of times it will shake our entire bathroom — it’s really weird,” Hoyt said. “We have to close our room doors because we can hear the stuff from the bathroom.”

One elevator is currently being worked on and a second broke down in Hinton James, leaving only one operational. Hinton James residents were informed after they moved in that there would be construction on one elevator, residents said.

First-year Madison Walters said she faces the choice of either waiting for the elevator or taking the stairs in Hinton James. She said this is especially inconvenient because she lives on the ninth floor.

“This morning we had to catch a bus so, like, we couldn’t really stand there and wait for one elevator to come all the way up, so we just, like, had to run down the stairs to catch it,” Walters said. “So it’s definitely been a hassle.”

First-year Emily Krupa, who lives on the eighth floor of Hinton James, said waiting for the one working elevator affects her schedule.

“It’s just annoying, but hopefully we’ll have at least two back by before the end of the semester,” Krupa said.

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