Over the past years a corner of Borough Hall has been settling, causing the brickwork to separate at the mortar joints.
Exactly why the movement has been occurring isn’t proven beyond a doubt, but one suspect problem was recently corrected and repointing the brick with new mortar will determine if the settling has stopped. It is the least expensive way to monitor the building over the next year or two before deciding if a very expensive solution of digging around the foundation and adding material to shore up the foundation itself, is actually required.
The suspected culprit may have been a broken drain pipe that attached to the gutter downspout in that corner of the building. The drain pipe was originally put in place to take water away from the foundation. The break was found at the corner of the building and it is possible the escaping water in that area undermined the corner, below the brick.
The pipe was recently replaced, but without fresh mortar it would be difficult to determine if the crack is still increasing in width, as it was an extremely slow process that was causing damage.
Once the brickwork is completed it will be much easier to see if the brick is continuing to separate from their mates. If the problem was not caused by the broken drain and foundation work has to be performed, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars to have it repaired.
The cost of the cosmetic repair will be approximately $1500, which was approved by Council at the July 11th meeting.
Everyone cross their fingers that the broken drain pipe was the problem.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
