Marietta Elementary School has returned to full accessibility this calendar year, with the purchase of a stair climber at the onset of the year and the gymnasium elevator repairs completed last week.
Elevator to the gym
Repairs to the elevator concluded on Jan. 24 with final inspection and concrete dried.
Transportation and Facilities Manager Darrell Prim oversaw the process of fluid removal, installation of a new cylinder and the re-hanging of the elevator in the shaft from the mini-gym to the main gym.
"It's a specialized process," describes Prim. "The way they do it is by hanging the elevator 30-40 feet up in the shaft and locking it in place while they pull the old cylinder out. Then we had the company suck the remaining fluid out of the hole before they put the new cylinder 28 feet in the ground."
But to bring the new cylinder into code compliance, an addition of a thimble was made to seal the cylinder from new leakage into the surrounding soil.
"It's just to keep the electrolysis from working on the cylinder walls and creating leaks," he explained. "Then once it's all piped they pumped the cylinder up to the elevator. And then, we had the state elevator inspector come in and completed all of the state and fire inspections and head tests and made sure everything is safe. It's passed with no issues."
The elevator was available for public use during league games the weekend of Jan. 28-29.
Stair Climber
Prim also reported the successful training of 10 individuals on the Super Trac Stair Climber.
"When it first arrived we trained five people and then on Jan. 19 we trained another five including site managers, head custodians and members of the Marietta Youth League," says Prim.
Read more about the sustainability of the purchase here.
The climber will be housed at Washington Elementary but is easily moved from building to building as needed.
"We're keeping at Washington right now to help folks get up from the breezeway to the first floor," explains Prim. "That way if you need assistance getting to the office we have that there for you."