Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Nov 27/98) - When a home at 50 Centennial St. collapsed on Aug. 19 because its rotten pilings gave way, many Inuvik residents and business owners took notice and have started to check their own buildings' pilings.

One building that could have just as easily given way is the town office and its attached fire hall.

"This could be the major capital project for the next fiscal year," says new town engineer John Bulmer.

"About 90 per cent of the pilings at the town office require upgrades."

Bulmer, who has inspected other town buildings, says Turning Point's pilings are similarly in need of an immediate upgrade, while other town buildings are down the priority list.

Pilings will gain strength from being frozen and, with temperatures finally plunging down to the -20s C, homeowners have some time until next spring to do thorough checking and plan any required repairs.

The most vulnerable part of pilings is the quarter metre above and below ground, Bulmer says.

That is the part which sits in moisture and is damp for part of the year and then dries out. Pilings continuously sitting in ground water, or always dry, provide less rot.

"You could tell most of the pilings at the town office were rotten by sight. About 75 per cent of pilings you can tell by sight or touch," Bulmer says, before explaining other ways to test pilings are to drill through them or to use an ultrasonic current.

Drilling the pilings through could be important because sometimes rot starts on the inside and works its way out.

Bulmer, who is single with two dogs and two cats, started working for the town Oct. 1.

He arrived from Bonnyville, Alta., where he lived for four years -- three years working for the town of Bonnyville and one year with his own engineering consulting business.

"I've been wanting to move up to the Arctic for about eight years," the 35-year-old says.

"What attracts me is the isolation and just being so far North."