Conditions of the Present School Building

The current building code of Emporia is 2015 IBC. Starting in 2012, the existing building code requirements were removed from IBC and was issued its own volume as the International Existing Building Code, IEBC. If additions or renovations are done to existing portions of the building, this IEBC code will have to be applied to these areas. This section does not include the updating which is likely required for Mechanical, Electrical, and Fire Alarm codes. State Law establishes a minimum Life Safety and has a uniform effect throughout the State. KSA 31-133 and KSA 2003 Supp. 31-134 require that all occupied structures conform to the basic life safety requirements:

1. A) Existing occupied buildings cannot have hazardous conditions which slow speedy exits.
2. B) Alteration of existing buildings cannot make existing conditions worse or block exits.
3. C) New construction and changes in use are subject to greater life safety requirements.

All new construction or altered buildings must be designed to be in compliance with the latest version Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA requirements which were initially issued in 1991 and revised to the current version of 2010. Modifications are needed to bring portions of the parish’s buildings into ADA compliance. The construction type of the building is likely Type III-B, Occupancy Groups A-3 (Assembly), E (Education), and incidental S-1 and S-2 (Storage). It is likely if any parts of the original portions of the building are renovated, they will need to be brought up to code, including but not limited to providing rated corridors, exit enclosures, and adding a sprinkler system throughout specifically since there is a basement level. ADA requires only one entry on an existing building be made ADA compliant, whereas in new construction, 60% of the public entries shall be compliant. No entries are ADA compliant.

The school has a unique two-story floor plan. The central core of the building consists of a multipurpose room on the lower level and a gymnasium and stage on the grade above. The classrooms are on the north and south side of the central core and are only accessible from the four corners of the building. An individual is forced to either go through an occupied space or take the stairs to get from one classroom to another. In today’s learning environment, this decreases student and teacher collaboration. Collaboration space for teachers and students is shown as a strong method for teacher retention and development. These two items, retention and development, were expressed as a high need for Sacred Heart School district moving forward.

The building has many exterior doors which decreases safety. School buildings today are designed such that the number of potential entry points are limited. Omitting exterior doors would not be an option, so it would be a challenge that would need to be overcome in renovating this building. The office being on the lower level does not allow administrators to physically see who is coming into the building, other than what is seen by the camera. The office staff does not have the ability to know who is in the building at any point in time due to the multiple entry points.

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) issues with this building are consistent with what we would see in many other 1920s-era buildings. At the main entrance, you enter at an intermediate level and then must travel upstairs or downstairs to access building functions. With the unique layout of this building, the ADA challenges of this arrangement cannot be resolved with a single ramp or elevator; rather, you would need two elevators. At the north, west, and south side of the school, you can enter the building at grade, but once inside you must go up or down the stairs to access the main school spaces. These entries are not ADA compliant.

The existing roof material is beyond end of life.  Even with multiple patches, continued aging allows for new infiltration of moisture causing interior damage. Original walls are plaster, which makes it harder to repair damages compared to more commonly used dry wall. Damage caused by water infiltrations needs to be repaired, particularly at the north wall and in the corner offices. Painting and the carpet on the walls in the stairwells are in need of improvement throughout. Providing lay-in ceilings with new lights would improve the appearance and acoustics of these rooms. There are numerous locations of damaged or water-stained ceiling tiles. These tiles would need to be replaced.

The current school building is heated with (2) natural gas steam boilers. Steam is piped throughout the building to various floor mounted radiators to heat each space. The boilers were most likely installed in the 1970s or 1980s and are far past useful life. The building condensate return pump is also in poor condition. The internal condition of the steam and condensate return piping is unknown. Sections of steam and condensate return piping are not insulated while others are insulated. The use of steam heating for a building of this size is not practical and is not common. Steam systems are typically used for large facilities or institutions with multiple buildings connected with tunnel systems or for industrial or process applications.

Some hard flooring in the school is original, making it nearly 100 years old. Carpet in classrooms should be replaced at or near every 20 years due to the general nature of a classroom, along with the accidents that happen with small children. The rubber risers and treads at the stairs in the school are beyond their useful life.

The building’s kitchen hood exhausts grease laden air from cooking appliances with a wall mounted fan which is located on the east side of the building. The building does not have a kitchen hood make-up air unit. Typically, a make-up air is used to deliver tempered air to the kitchen hood which replaces the air that is exhausted during cooking operations. In most cases, this equipment is required by mechanical codes.

Plumbing fixtures are dated and in poor condition. There is only one boys restroom and one girls restroom, as well as only one faculty restroom (with only one toilet).  The only way to access the laundry room is through the girls restroom.

The school’s brick does not have expansion joints at the corners of the building which is common of buildings of this era. The result is there is often spalling at the exposed concrete foundation, as is seen at the school. No large cracks or major issues were seen or noted on the outside of the building. However, there is visible cracking at expected locations like window heads, jambs, and corners of the building.

As is also common with buildings of this area, there does not appear to be insulation or an air barrier in the exterior wall’s assembly. Insulation alone will not stop infiltration; thus, an air barrier would have added value to sealing the building envelope and keeping cold air from infiltrating and conditioned air from escaping. The condition and integrity of the building’s exterior envelope is critical for humidity control for a building. Moisture is forced into the building through cracks or openings in the building’s exterior skin on warm humid days. This is caused when the vapor pressure of the outdoor air is greater than the indoor air of a building. Humidity issues could also be caused when unconditioned outdoor air is drawn into the building mechanically through the HVAC system. These issues add to poor indoor air quality and poor occupant comfort and result in extra energy and cost to heat and cool the building.

The steam piping was originally installed with asbestos insulation, but reports provided by the school show the insulation was remediated. There is still asbestos floor and ceiling tile in the building that would need to be abated by the owner with a building renovation or demolition project. These locations of known asbestos should be tested and reported on every three years.

Casework in the school appears to be original construction, making it up to 100 years old so it is dated and needs replacement. Removal of these built-ins would improve the overall aesthetics of the space and make the rooms feel larger. The amount of storage provided in these rooms is adequate for the amount of storage needed for this age group. The teaching boards in school classrooms are dated, green chalkboards. These would need to be replaced with markerboards which are standard in today’s learning environments.