The project to replace the roof of the Fernley Swimming Pool remains on schedule, even after crews encountered several surprises once interior demolition began, pool officials said last week.
The work stems from damage caused by a 2024 windstorm, which forced the district to plan a full roof replacement. Construction began in mid-February, and contractors estimate they can finish the interior portion by May 31, leaving a narrow window to refill, heat and prepare the pool while exterior work is being finished in time to reopen by June 14, the day after the end of the school year.
Project Superintendent Tom Estes of SB Builders, Pool Director Patrick Daniel and Pool Board President Suzanne Prouty said the surprises only became visible after construction crews removed the acoustic ceiling tiles and exposed decades-old materials and systems that had been hidden from view.
Those surprises ranged from systems that no longer met current standards to structural elements that didn’t match the original plans.
Estes said crews began the project by removing the acoustic ceiling tiles and the hangers that supported them, which exposed abandoned ductwork that had been left in place and hidden above the drop ceiling. Because the remodel will feature an open industrial-style ceiling, all unused ductwork had to be removed.
Estes said crews have since framed new 2½-inch walls along both sides of the pool to hold insulation, cement board and new electrical and security conduit. A temporary storefront opening was installed to move equipment and materials in and out of the building, and a buffer zone was created around the pool edge to protect the finished cap along the top of the pool wall, known as the coping, and scuppers, which are the openings that carry overflow water into the gutter system.
When crews removed the interior ceiling panels, they found that a layer of material shown in the original design documents between the insulation and the external roof was missing.
“When they opened up the roof, it was just a complete surprise,” Daniel said.
The demolitions also revealed electrical wiring and fire-alarm components that no longer met current code requirements. Estes said the outdated wiring and fire-alarm components are being replaced as part of the interior work, and electricians are installing new conduit and cabling to bring the entire system up to current code. He said the upgrades won’t affect the overall schedule but had to be addressed while the ceiling was open.
“The biggest shock was the electric and the fire,” Prouty said. “Having to redo everything, we did not expect that.”
Estes said once the ceiling was opened, the work shifted from demolition to rebuilding the systems that had been exposed.
“It’s part of the process of, basically, you kick open the door and you get rid of the cosmetics, and you see the old bones,” he said. “You’ve got a good situation, but you’ve got to update everything before you can put the skin back on.”
All of that came after a separate problem surfaced even before construction began. The pool was scheduled to stay open through Feb. 16, but on Feb. 13, Daniel told the contractors during a meeting that he could drain the pool using the pool’s circulation pump.
“I left that meeting, walked into the back of the building and said, ‘Wow, it's really quiet back here,’” Daniel said. “Nothing was running.”
The pump failure forced the pool to close three days early, and staff spent President’s Day weekend trying to find another way to drain the pool so construction could begin that Tuesday.
The pool uses a two-pump system, with one pump running and the other serving as a backup. But Daniel said one of the pumps was already inoperable.
“When the working pump stopped, we just had two broken pumps,” he said.
Daniel said one pump will be replaced and the other will be refurbished to serve as the backup, and he hopes the upgraded system will last a decade.
Despite the setbacks, Estes said the work remains on schedule. He hopes to finish the section of the roof over the pool area before May 31, which would give staff time to get the pool ready to open by June 14. Prouty said the work on the portion of the roof over the offices can be completed while the pool is open.
“We’re still sticking to the schedule as designed, and whatever hiccups come through, we’ll meet that situation head-on and keep going forward,” he said.
Prouty said it will take about two weeks to refill the pool, heat it to the proper temperature and balance the chemicals.
“We're literally filling 170,000 gallons with a garden hose,” Daniel said. “So it takes days.”
The district will also replace some of its lifeguards after being closed for four months.
“We’ve lost staff that went off to college or whatnot, so we’ll be looking at hiring probably five to 10 junior employees to make up for that,” Daniel said.
When the project is finished, Estes hopes the next crew that works on the building won’t find similar surprises behind the walls.
“We’re updating everything so the next person who takes this on gets something better than we found,” he said.
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