RHAM wants window company to pay for replacements at high school

HEBRON With an increasing number of window failures at RHAM High School, the Board of Education is looking at suing the company that provided and installed windows, Region 8 Board of Education Member Joseph E. OConnor said.

Nearly 300 of the heat-mirror windows have failed and need to be replaced, he said, adding that its likely the remaining 200 windows also will fail and should be replaced.

The windows were made and installed by EFCO, a Missouri company. That particular model is no longer being made by the company.

School officials first raised the issue of window problems in 2013.

While the manufacturer agreed early this year to cover the costs for 166 replacement windows, the school system learned it would have to pay around $125,000 for the shipping, storing, and installation of the windows.

In 2013, RHAM Superintendent of Schools Robert Siminski and maintenance Director Michael Ceresa noticed a pattern of over 160 window failures at the high school, and the problem became worse during the winter of 2013.

Moisture was getting in between the panes of glass due to a failed seal, they said.

Many of the failed windows are stained and discolored due to long-term residual condensation, RHAM Board of Education Chairman Danny Holtsclaw has said.

EFCO recently inspected the school and saw that the number of failed windows had risen to over 300 windows, OConnor said.

But the company said it would honor only the 166 it had agreed to earlier because the warranty expired in 2013, he said.

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RHAM wants window company to pay for replacements at high school