We’ve heard of a few structures collapsing under the weight of this winter’s snow—but that wasn’t the cause of some damage at the Park City Peaks Hotel swimming pool last week.
Park City Chief Building Official Dave Thacker says the building department wasn’t notified immediately when the incident happened, but after some investigating, they found that it was the ceiling—not the roof—that collapsed; and it wasn’t due to snow loading. The ceiling in the Peaks pool room is made of tongue-and-groove wood, and Thacker says the humid climate in the room distorted the paneling.
“Wood expands and contracts all the time based on moisture content and based on temperature, which is pretty consistent in a pool room, but it can vary a little bit," Thacker said. "So, as that moisture expands and contracts, the nails that are holding them can slowly start to work through that wood. It seems as though it was just an unfortunate event, but it was not structural, it was just finished material that collapsed.”
When contacted by KPCW for comment, Peaks Hotel General Manager Stephanie Samuels would only say the hotel is in the middle of repairs and declined to provide any more information.
