Construction and Repairs Begin in the Village

Photo by Nicole Williams

Construction to rebuild the exterior of the Village began last Monday, Sept. 14, and is expected to last two months, with most repair work taking place during weekdays.

To fix the problems with the buildings, Slate Construction will remove the bottom piece of deteriorating Hardi-plank siding from each building, repair the flashing underneath, install new siding and paint it to match, according to an email from the Village Residence Hall Office, to Village residents.

According to an announcement sent out by Slate to students, construction will be begin at 8 a.m. and finish at approximately 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and sometimes on Saturday, depending on the weather. It indicated that there will be no construction work on rainy days or during unreasonably cold temperatures. Although heavy equipment will not be used – only hand tools – residents can expect it to be noisy during the construction, although workers will try to keep construction as quiet as possible.

Each building in the residence area will take four to five days to complete construction. Slate does not foresee much interruption to students, except for the noise. They have made it clear that no entrances will be blocked to any of the buildings. 

Slate requests that the blinds in bedrooms be closed during construction for most of the work will be around the windows on the ground floor. Work will be done simultaneously on two buildings with signs posted on the buildings being worked on during that week, according to Slate's statement.

Slate also states that they have a lot of experience working in the Village and know how to avoid troubling students, how to drive safely and where to park. Many students have noticed very little disruption.

“Only today I looked out my window and realized a small lift machine thing had guys working on our siding,” said senior James Perlas. “Other than that, I’ve barely seen it.”

However, students living on the ground floor are experiencing serious disturbances from time to time. Halle Pineiro, a senior who lives in the Village, experienced a disruption

“I was violently awakened one morning, on my day off, at 8 a.m., to hammers and talking and electrical equipment that felt like they’d come through the wall,” Pineiro said. “I wish I knew why this wasn’t done over the summer because no one should have to deal with that. They camp out right next to my building and I have to hear their talking all day and morning.”

The job will take about two months, depending on the weather. If construction is not complete by winter, it will be continued next summer.

ppark1@ramapo.edu