Wirt County Courthouse Details Report

 

Component

Current Status

Recommendations

Cost

General Exterior

The courthouse was built in 1911 and is listed on the historic register. P1 The building has a stone foundation. The building, including the foundation, is in good condition. This site contains the courthouse and a jail. This report covers the main courthouse and the walkway structure. The jail is covered in a separate report.

 

The main courthouse and the jail are connected by the walkway structure that links the 2nd floor of the jail with 2nd floor of the courthouse.  The structural integrity of the walkway is questionable P2, P3, P4. 

 

The main courthouse building is three stories plus an attic.  The third story is very small and is only used for storage. There is a bat problem in the attic  P5.

 

Exterior Photos:

Front P6  Front / Right P7

Right P8

Rear P9

Left P10  Front Left P12

 

The old outdoor restrooms have been converted to a maintenance building P13, P14.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recommend removing the existing walkway structure and barring the doors that access it.

 

 

 

 

Eliminate all entrances for the bats such as open areas of the soffits. Place screens over the inside of the attic vents. Eliminate any unused vent pipes on the roof. Use an exterminator to eliminate the bats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$4,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$2,500

Exterior Walls

The exterior walls of the building are brick.  The walls are in good condition. The mortar was repaired in 1997.

 

 

 

Roof

The roof is 10 years old and is a combination of flat and pitched with asphalt shingles.  There are some leaks in the flat part. P15 P16. The piping from the condensing unit drains on to the roof.

Patch the flat roof.

 

Pipe the drain from the condenser to the roof drain.

$1,800

 

$300

Windows and Doors

The doors are wooden and heavy and in fair condition P17. The windows are wooden, single glazed and wire reinforced on the 2nd and 3rd floor.  The other original windows are double glazed steel.  There are some newer windows that were installed 1985 but are inoperable P19.  Many of the windows are cracked and the wood frames are rotting. P20, P21.

 

There is evidence of moisture in the building.  The new HVAC in the building has reportedly reduced the problem.

Replace all of the windows in the building with historic sashes.

 

Install a vapor barrier between the bottom floor and the ground.

$50,000

 

 

$2,000

General Interior

The interior is good condition overall. Paint is peeling in some areas in the building. P25, P26  The carpet is in poor condition.

Replace the carpet and paint the walls after the moisture problem is corrected.

 

$20,000

Fire Safety

The fire safety system is good with alarms, sprinklers, exit lights, and emergency lighting.  There is panic hardware on the exit doors.  There is only one set of stairs that is not enclosed by fire rated walls.  There is evidence of storage under the stairs. There is only one means of egress from the courtroom.

 

A second means of egress should be added for the second floor with an enclosed stair tower.  This will also serve the courtroom.

 

Enclose the stairwell with a fire rated door and wall on the second floor.

 

Remove the storage from under the stairs.

 

 

$40,000

 

 

$2,500

ADA Compliance

There is one accessible parking space. It is not marked clearly with paint. The sign is faded.  The sidewalk is good condition. There is no signage in the corridor.  The door handles are half knob and half lever.  The fire alarm has both strobe and horn.  The elevator is ADA compliant and goes to all floors.  The courtroom jury box and the bench do not have a lift.  There are bathrooms on the 1st and 2nd floors that are somewhat accessible. They are single occupancy.  The hot water pipes and drain lines under the sinks are not insulated and the toilets are not the proper height.

 

We recommend the accessible parking space sign and contrasting paint with symbol be installed.

 

Replace all doorknobs with lever type hardware.

 

Install ADA signs throughout the building on doors and in corridors.

 

Install witness stand and judge’s bench lift.

 

We recommend the accessible restrooms be brought up to ADA compliance with new toilets and insulation on the pipes.

 

$250

 

$5,000

 

 

$1,000

 

$18,000

 

 

 

$1,200

Structure

 

The concrete floors are in good shape. There were no structural concerns noted during the inspection other than the walkway mentioned above.

See “General Exterior” above.

 

Security

There are numerous security cameras, P27, P28.  The metal detector at the courtroom entrance is not used P29.  The judge’s bench is protected by ballistic material and is equipped with a duress button.  There is a building wide security alarm.

 

The metal detector for the first floor should be moved to the front entrance and an X-ray machine should be added. 

 

The courthouse needs entry control to limit public access.

 

The courthouse needs entry control for the judge’s chambers.

 

 

$35,000

 

 

$2,000

 

 

$1,500

Electrical

The electrical service was updated during the most recent remodeling.

 

 

Mechanical

The HVAC system was replaced 4 years ago and is in good shape.

 

 

Work Safety

There were no worker safety issues noted during the inspection.

 

 

Space requirements

There is a need for additional office and storage space.  There are no offices or courtrooms for the family court judge and no offices for the probation officers, mental hygiene commissioner or the home confinement officer. All offices have older documents stored in the attic and a small third floor area.  These areas are inaccessible and are not fit for proper storage.

We recommend an 11,000 square feet annex be built for the county to be used for offices and storage..

 

$1,600,000

Subtotal

 

 

$1,787,050

Soft Costs

Professional fees, permits, surveys and studies

20%

$357,410

Total

 

 

$2,144,460

 

 

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