Engineers urge roof repair for old jail

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GONZALES — County commissioners on Monday heard from a structural engineer about necessary repair work to the Old Jail Museum to keep sections of the roof from falling through in the event of severe weather.

Dave Gauthier, Senior Project Manager with engineering firm Jaster-Quintanilla San Antonio, LLP, expressed his concerns to commissioners that due to the original design of the building, as well as years of wear-and-tear, the roof could present a potentially dangerous situation if not structurally modified.

“You’ve got a wonderful building, and I know you know that,” Gauthier said. “Originally, the buildings were designed with lower than what we would use design-wise. When we did the courthouse here 20-something years ago, we found the same thing and did quite a bit of reinforcement in the attic.”

“The center section of the old jail- particularly the roof framing- that has been so modified that it doesn’t have structural capacity for a full-design lifeline. That is a risk to the facility. The other part that we found is the drainage from the roof is pretty limited, so in the event one of those drainage gutters on the roof became clogged, it would be very easy to overload the roof.”

Gauthier said another problem they found is that the roof trusses are not bolted together, and that in the event of severe weather the joints connecting them could rip apart.

“You can look at the building and say it’ll be there another 10 years or however long,” he said. “And it may well be. But the problem is if you have straight-line winds or a tornado come through, and it puts the roof in an uplift, then the roof could conceivably come down. And so there is some risk involved if you leave the roof the way it is.”

For his part, architect Tim Gescheidle feels that while the majority of the building has stood the test of time, the roof is an area of general concern.

“One of the trusses is inadequate in size — it doesn’t meet the size of today’s code,” Gescheidle said in March. “When they redid the roof in 1905, they did their own modifications of the structure of the trusses. That may be part of what happened, and it’s been that way for a long time.”

Gescheidle said the building is not necessarily facing an imminent collapse, but that the work needs to be done.

“If not, it could lead to other roofing issues,” he said.

Gescheidle also pointed out that the building’s foundation is still in good shape, but that the gutters — which were removed in 1905 — need to be re-installed.

“That’s introducing water around the perimeter of the facility,” he said. “With this type of clay, the water could cause it to expand and contract. We also think a lot of the rainwater is going underneath the building [possibly into a cistern], which is not good. So we’re going to get a plumber to use a scope to see where the water is going.”

Commissioners did not take action on the item, and there was no indication of when the project will be discussed in the future. Commissioners will next meet at 9 a.m. Sept. 8 at the Gonzales County Courthouse.

Commissioners also held the first public hearing on the proposed tax rate during Monday’s session. For details, see Friday’s edition.

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