Whitefish gym floor has to be replaced

Students are still unable to use the south gym at Whitefish Middle School after the hardwood floor buckled last spring.

The Whitefish School District is negotiating with Big Sky Supplies, the Missoula-based company that laid the floor, to determine who is responsible to pay for the floor, Superintendent Jerry House told the school board at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

The floor will have to be replaced entirely due to buckling in a 2-foot by 40-foot section, House said.

The maple floor was a gift from community members, who raised money to install hardwood floors in the middle school's north and south gyms. The north gym formerly was the cafeteria, House said, and had a tile floor. The south gym was a basketball court with a wood floor surrounded by tile.

That setup allowed the "floating" wood floor to breathe, House said. When Big Sky Supplies laid the new hardwood floor wall-to-wall over the south gym's existing floor, it eliminated the ability for everything underneath to breathe.

"If a floor can't breathe, there's pressure from underneath and the floor buckles," House said.

When the buckling occurred last spring, the floor was still under its one-year warranty. Big Sky Supplies repaired the floor at no cost to the school district, House said.

The fix didn't last, however, and now the floor is beyond repair.

"To solve this thing means demolition, removing both floors," House said. "The sad part is we have to go all the way down to the cement."

The district currently is investigating different possible solutions and determining which will be the least expensive option. House said he has no idea how much a new floor will cost.

He also doesn't know who will pay for the floor.

Agents from EMC Insurance Co. represent the school district and Big Sky Supplies, House said; the agents are still discussing who is responsible for covering the cost of the floor.

The north gym isn't damaged; student are using that court and the upstairs gym, House said.

But the loss of the south gym has limited the district's ability to host middle school volleyball, adult recreation sports and the Little Dribblers program.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.