The spring-like downpour Tuesday caused a few old problems to spout open in the recently renovated student center tower.

Although NIU officials believe the situation is relatively minor, windows installed in the Holmes Student Center as part of the tower recladding project that was completed in May gave way to seepage around the edges. In addition, rain accumulated in the pyramid on top of the tower, but it is unclear how the puddle got there.

Water crept in through defective caulking around windows in the Sky Room and on the second and seventh floors, Physical Plant Project Manager Conrad Miller confirmed.

Student center Director Judd Baker said that while patrolling the building for leaks during the storm, he found seepage around the windows that pooled into about the size of a postcard.

Miller said, “It was a highly unusual rain that we had” that turned up the faulty window sealant, but he did not expect to discover any leaks.

“After any rehabilitation there is a shakedown period. And we already went through that,” he said.

Miller explained the real trial period was the first big rain of the season that involved a tornado threat near the beginning of the semester.

During that rain, there was water seepage into the Sky Room and the tower rehabilitation general contractors—J.P. Cullen, Janesville, Wisc.—were contacted and acted to correct the problem, Miller said.

“We brought Cullen back and we thought it had been rectified.” But Cullen is a respectable contractor and the problem will likely be taken care of, Miller added.

The renovations are under a typical one-year warranty that could be extended at no additional cost for two or three years to cover standard things like windows, he said.

Although Miller was surprised at the leaks, Baker said he was relieved there were only a few.

Baker said student centers at other universities where he worked had major leakage problems with newly installed windows, so he was relieved to find only a few leaks after the NIU project.

“Given the size of the building, I feel very lucky. This building is pretty tight,” Baker said.

Rainwater leaks were a major problem in the NIU tower before the rehabilitation. “Every time we had a rain we would lose ceiling tile,” Baker said.

Miller said he does not know how water got into the pyramid, but is guessing that rain came in through vents. The pyramid is a hot air escape for the center’s air conditioning system.