Although unseasonably warm weather has helped push the Holmes Student Center reconstruction closer to completion, the project has fallen a month behind schedule.

NIU Project Manager Conrad Miller said above-freezing temperatures and calm conditions over the break allowed workers to hoist the pyramid-shaped metal roof in place and finish installing all but one row of the tower’s new windows.

“The most difficult job is still ahead of us,” Miller said, referring to the copper plates and ridge lighting to be put up over the outside of the roof. He said those steps will have to wait, at least until March, because of the dangers of ice and high winds on the roof’s steep surface.

Another improvement completed over the break was the ventilation louvers, vents used to block light and rain, on the north and south sides of the “penthouse,” Miller said.

Added to the list of completions are the new television antennas, an improvement which should be noticed by students returning to the residence halls, he said.

Miller said the reconstruction, scheduled to be completed by December of last year, fell behind because of earlier cold weather and unexpected problems with the aging structure.

However, the delay in the $2.4 million project has not resulted in any significant cost overruns. “We’re still within 35 percent of the contingency budget,” Miller said.

Before the project shuts down, Miller said he hopes to see several areas completed, including drainage gutters, a ladder to service the aircraft warning light and a steel-and-wood deck inside the penthouse to control air flow.

When the roof and penthouse are completed, the student center’s two massive rooftop air conditioners will draw fresh air in through the north and south louvers, and force hot air out the east and west louvers with the help of the deck and new fans.

The roof also will feature a layer of felt paper between the roof decking and copper shingles to prevent the two different metals from corroding each other.

Miller said the new arrangements should prevent the almost year-round problem of heat buildup caused by the addition of an enclosed roof. “Believe it or not, there are some winter days which we have to run the air conditioners,” Miller said.