ASUCLA may approve additional $400,000 to fix Kerckhoff patio
ASUCLA officials are discussing whether to spend up to $400,000 to replace the floor tiles in Kerckhoof patio to help prevent leaks. (Zoe Hessler/Daily Bruin)
By Kartik Kolachina
Feb. 4, 2016 9:58 a.m.
The Associated Students UCLA may spend up to $440,000 to repair Kerckhoff patio and a water containment unit underneath it, in an effort to fix leaks.
If ASUCLA officials approve a renovation, Kerckhoff patio would be closed to students beginning summer of 2017, said Roy Champawat, director of the student union. Workers would remove all the patio tiles and install a waterproof membrane, and may also fix water damage in first-floor Kerckhoff Hall offices.
ASUCLA allocated $40,000 in September to seal cracks beneath the patio to prevent leaks, which have been a problem for about a decade, Champawat said. In January, ASUCLA allocated an additional $400,000 to pursue long-term solutions for the leaks, said Bob Williams, executive director of ASUCLA.
In the 1990s, workers constructed an underground moat below the patio to collect water from rainfall and drainage, Champawat said. Kerckhoff Hall, which opened in 1935, has not been renovated since.
He added that several portions of the moat, called the containment pan, began to crack last year, leaking more water into first-floor offices in Kerckhoff Hall and other areas below the patio.
Champawat said ASUCLA officials have not yet voted to use the money allocated and do not have a timeline for the completion.
Compiled by Kartik Kolachina, Bruin contributor.
