State capitol offices damaged in roofing project

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

A $4.5 million roofing job at the state capitol isn't exactly going perfectly and the contractor is working to make sure there aren't more problems over the long weekend.

A construction project to fix a leaking roof at the state capitol is actually creating a leaking roof. But the contractor says there is another side to this roofing story.

Lawmakers often get flooded with requests. But some on the fourth floor of the state capitol have been swamped with soggy ceiling tiles, some that have caved in and even broken some gifts.

"Unfortunately it's broken and we had a couple other damaged items here," said Representative John Mizuno, (D) House Vice Speaker, as he held a broken vase that was on the desk beneath the collapsed ceiling.

Representative Mizuno was one of at least four lawmakers whose offices sustained damage over the long Admissions Day weekend.

"Why would you do something so foolish? It's simple planning and if they would have known, keep in mind Admissions Day is a state holiday, no one is going to be in to mitigate any damage that is foreseeable," said Rep. Mizuno.

Construction workers with subcontractor Beachside Roofing are replacing the 20 year old roof on the 5th floor of the capitol. However the old roof has a foam padding in between layers that has been saturated over time. When they tear out the old material it exposes cracks and then the water from the foam leaks out down into the offices. It happened on the Friday no one was working below to notice and got worse over the weekend.

"That was a disaster. That was catastrophic for tile here. The water pooled and you had a bunch of fall ins," said Rep. Mizuno. "The general contractor takes the hit too as well as the subcontractor but taxpayers lose too so this hurts everyone. We just have to be a lot more akamai about doing business and planning ahead."

Now before this extended Labor Day weekend general contractor Kaikor Construction says it is not tearing out anymore roof. It's only sealing exposed areas. The hope is when lawmakers come in on Tuesday they won't see a mess like this again.

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State capitol offices damaged in roofing project