In mid-April of 2021, Metro Detroit saw three days of solid rain. The roof of a new hotel project was in place, and thought to be water tight, but was unable to stand against the volume of water being dumped on it.
The result: a hotel in mid-construction with water damage from top to bottom, affecting all 158 rooms. Ninety-percent of the water was hidden. This is where the story gets interesting. This hotel was built off site, in pods, and shipped to Michigan to be assembled on site. Think of a life-sized LEGO project. Now, imagine all the tiny crevices between LEGO bricks. As you will see in the images throughout this article, the LEGO analogy is really just the tip of the iceberg. This is the future of construction, which will present structural drying challenges for restorers.