Ripping up the floors

Just after moving into her Hadley apartment in August, Bonnie Benedict was told that she and her roommates had to move everything aside for their new carpets.

That meant computers, books, suitcases, clothes, lamps, and chairs into the bathroom, into the kitchen, and onto any non-carpeted surface so the apartment's carpets could be replaced. Even though Benedict and her roommates were comfortably moved in, everything that wasn't UB-regulated furniture had to go.

With her busy schedule, Benedict thought moving her furniture was enough of a problem, but when she returned to her apartment Tuesday, the day she was told it would be done, she found that not only was her carpet not done, she couldn't even stay at her apartment. She and her roommates were forced to stay in the Comfort Inn on Maple Rd.

Though URH&A paid for the hotel, dinner and Wegmans gift cards, Benedict said the treats did not make up for the trouble moving out for the night caused.

"It made it better, but it didn't make up for the inconvenience. It made it easier," said Benedict, a senior communication design major.

This month, 77 Hadley Village apartments are being re-carpeted as part of a project that has been in the works since last year. Residents, however, are frustrated over the untimely renovations that are forcing them to turn their apartments upside down a month into the semester.

"The complex is seven years old," said Tom Tiberi, senior associate director for university apartments. "It's a normal cycle."

If the cycle holds, carpets in South Lake Village will be replaced in 2007 and then in Flint Village in 2008, though URH&A did not confirm when those carpet replacement projects would take place.

Benedict said she felt the new carpets interrupted her life as well as the other students living in Hadley. Her schoolwork was disrupted because she was unable to access what she needed for classes.

"They should have done it over a break or when we moved out because it interfered with everything we did," Benedict said.

Other students also said the carpet replacement was disruptive.

"I got all my stuff arranged, then I had to move again," said George Norton, a senior medical and chemistry major. "Not a good way to start of the semester."

Tyler Spell, the subcontractor who put in the carpets in Hadley, witnessed firsthand the work that was put into changing the carpets.

"It's hard because we have to move furniture," Spell said. "Some of the students are getting agitated. Overall everyone seems okay with it."

Although many students were upset with the inconvenience, there were a few students happy with the change

"I wouldn't mind having a carpet not stained with God-knows-what," said Danelle Schrader, a senior mechanical and aerospace engineering major.

Those students living in the apartments that have been re-carpeted have complained that there were scratches on the walls, mismatching trim and other minor problems. The students reported no major damages.

"This kind of stuff is common, we try not to," Spell said.

Hadley is trying to be accommodating to students by allowing them to reschedule their days to have the carpets changed. Tiberi said the project was decided on last year and some carpets could be changed over the summer, though it was not possible to change them all between the spring and fall semesters.

"We have been happy over all." Tiberi said. "We received many thank-you notes."

According to Tiberi, the re-carpeting is scheduled for completion by the end of October.