Spring Arbor University, Gainey Hall

When you look back on the winter of 2014 in Michigan, the one word that probably comes to mind is cold.  It was one of the fiercest and iciest winters on record in the U.S., so much so that it was later coined the “Polar Vortex.”

​On January 7th of that year, a big snowstorm hit the main campus of Spring Arbor University. In Gainey Hall, one of the women’s residence halls, the sprinkler systems in the foyer froze, broke, and flooded the floor with two inches of water.

Cousino Restoration was called that night—a Tuesday—and informed that they had to have the building restored by the following Saturday, when the students would return from the holiday break.

The Cousino Restoration team arrived on the scene and worked around the clock to restore the damage.
Meanwhile, in the 100-person dorm next door, the storm had inflicted further damage.  The kitchen and common area had broken pipes, which led to more flooding of two-inch water on the ground building-wide.  Working together, Cousino Restoration gutted the kitchen, janitors’ space, and common dining, then extracted all of the water and cleaned everything thoroughly.
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By the time the students arrived back on campus that Saturday, it was as if nothing had ever happened thanks to Cousino Restoration’s work.