SHARON

The cost to clear Sharon High School of all asbestos went up $27,818 Monday when school directors approved two change orders for work completed in the building.

The change orders by Greenmoor, Inc. of Verona, Pa., were for $15,090 and $12,728. The change orders were necessary because workers ran into some unexpected problems while removing the asbestos in the library and the large group instruction classroom, said James Wolf, business manager.

The library has a bulkhead wall that was supposed to be removed but administrators decided after the contract was bid that the wall needed to be kept to hang pictures. In order to remove the asbestos from the bulkhead, workers had to climb ladders between the ceiling grids and scrape off the asbestos, said Ken Brandt of Safety Dynamics, an asbestos consulting company of Lowellville, Ohio.

In the large group instruction classroom there was a hard plastic ceiling and workers didn't know the extent of asbestos contamination above it until work began, Brandt said.

Greenmoor did the work before getting board approval for the change orders due to scheduling, Wolf said. He said work began late, at the district's request, and Greenmoor still completed the work by the July 5 deadline. Waiting for the change orders to be approved would have "held up the entire project," Wolf said.

Including the change orders, the district has spent $841,706 on asbestos removal, according to district figures. That is part of the $18,078,000 spent on construction at the high school. Besides asbestos removal, the construction includes installing new heating and ventilation systems, plumbing, making the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, remodeling the technology education wing, gymnasium, a cafeteria, kitchen and auditorium and installing a new office and security system for the building.

The project should be finished in November, nearly a month ahead of schedule, according to Greer Hayden of HHSDR Architects Engineers, Sharon.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgarrett@sharonherald.com