2 minute read
Oberon snow damage
Oberon recovery
Above: Snow piled high on a NSW Rural Fire Service vehicle in August this year. Left: Aftermath of the snowfall-induced water damage at the Oberon Masonic Centre.
It is not unusual for Oberon to experience snowfalls of more than 300 millimetres but what was unusual was
the impact the snowfall in August had on the Oberon Masonic Centre.
In fact, after the snowfall nothing is going to be normal in the Oberon Masonic Centre for several months.
The snowfall had caused water to flood the front vestibule and two parts of the ceiling had collapsed. The furniture in the vestibule was soaked. The brethren at Oberon Masonic Centre are not totally clear what is to be written off and what can be treated. They do know that all the carpet must be replaced and all the ceiling as well. The walls of the vestibule will have to be treated and painted. The contents of the cupboards are mouldy and must be written off.
A number of books have survived and will need to be treated before they can be made usable.
Mould has spread throughout the building and a lot of the furniture must be written off and replaced.
In the South the carpet, underlay, tables, lounges, curtains, and the ceiling need to be written off and replaced.
The walls must be treated and painted.
Only one plastic table can be treated and retained.
In the actual lodge room, the wall in the East has to be rendered and painted and the other three walls have to be
treated and repainted. The carpet must be treated as must most of the furniture. The Volume of the Sacred Law must be treated and all collars and gauntlets will need to be written off and replaced. The Master’s and Wardens’ chairs can be treated but the Secretary’s desk and chair have to be written off and replaced. All the bench seating will be treated, and any movable items will need to be treated and placed in storage while the restoration work is carried out.
The insurance assessors are an organisation called RestorX. They have assessed the damage and an insurance claim is being assembled in conjunction with expertise provided by Grand Lodge. The assessors have noted that there is asbestos in the ceiling of the South and that will have to be removed as part of the restoration project.
At this point, the lodge does not know what the insurance company will pay and what will be left for the lodge to pay. The answers to these questions will generate future actions but in the meantime the lodge needs to find temporary premises so that it can meet in person as it comes out of lockdown.
