By Shrija Krishnan, Staff Reporter

The Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in December to allocate $800,000 for renovations to the Tredyffrin Public Library’s roofing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning as a part of the township’s five-year expenditure plan. 

The building’s humid air during the summer and rampant drywall cracks are caused by the poor, leaking condition of its roof, aggravated by the buildup of stormwater moisture. The project is expected to start around mid-March and finish by August.

The Tredyffrin Public Library building is uniquely made up of three distinct roofs: a brown shingled roof, a rubberized roof with gravel and a “living” roof. The “living” roof operates as both a roof and a functioning ecosystem — it consists of organic matter, which thrives as the rainwater naturally saturates the soil, as opposed to draining off the building and into gutters.

The three different roofing styles will be maintained during the renovation process in efforts to preserve the building’s historic value. Dave Dudda, the capital improvement manager for Tredyffrin Township, explains that although there are likely better ways to carry out the project, modifying the building would degrade its original architecture.

“In a township, you’re going to have people that don’t see the historical value in the building, and say the ($800,000) could be put to better use just building a new library,” Dudda said. “The majority of people, I feel, want to keep the integrity of the historic value of the building. Our goal is to upgrade it where upgrades are needed, but not to the point where it becomes something completely different than intended by the original architect.”

The plan is to strip the roof down to its skeleton and rebuild from there, while simultaneously taking the HVAC controls off the roof to finish building underneath the unit. Then, once the HVAC unit is reinstalled, the project will wrap up with interior fixes to the drywall and windows.

F.W. Houder Inc. and Hirschberg Mechanical are the expected roofing and HVAC contractors, respectively. Part of the HVAC reinstallment process is “balancing” the building, a technique designed to ensure the flow of air and heat is consistent throughout the library. 

Junior Gladys Cai, a summer library volunteer, hopes the renovations will improve the library’s overall atmosphere and working conditions.

“It was pretty hot and stuffy, especially since I worked downstairs in the children’s area,” Cai said. “They (the renovations) will make visitors a lot more comfortable while browsing for books, and I’m glad that people volunteering next year will hopefully have a less humid experience than me.”

Shrija Krishnan can be reached at [email protected].