Pyramid passes water testing

Cal State Long Beach passed a nail-biting test Monday after thousands of gallons of water was poured on The Pyramid to check for leaks.

After more than a month of repairs to the structure's roof, a test was performed for CSULB officials by Nielsen-Dillingham Builders, which constructed the sports arena.

After last winter's record rains, workers for NielsenDillingham Builders were able to contain about 70 percent of the leakage with a caulking process, said Dennis Walters, vice-president of the construction company. Leakage from the rains damaged drywall and the hardwood floor within the arena.

Continuing leaks led CSULB officials to seek outside expert advice for a plan to stop the consistent leakage on the 1-year-old building.

More than 15 leak-proofing ideas were proposed to the CSU Board of Trustees, including putting a secondary roof on the structure, said Scott Charmack, associate vice-president of Facilities Management.

The accepted proposal called for changing more than 1,000 fasteners and adding more caulking. Walters said that rain water drips down after collecting in the area where the massive blue panels overlapped. Workers also drove wedges into the seams of the panels to help the roof drain excess water.

The Pyramid passed the test offered by the water cannons, "but you really won't know until the first rain whether it's effective," Walter said.

Dave O'Brien, CSULB athletic director, said he got the news of the successful test from Charmack early Tuesday morning. "Now we have to cross our fingers," he said.

Once the leaks have stopped, the university will formally accept the building, which has not yet been paid for, and the 20-year warranty will go into effect.