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Reprinted with
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Thursday, April 28, 1994

A ROTTEN SHAME
1985 PHIPPS CONSERVATORY WOOD REPAIRS NEED
REDOING
Section: LOCAL
Edition: SOONER
Page: B-1
Source: BY TOM BARNES, POST-GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
Memo: WOOD THAT WOULD WORK

City officials have learned an expensive lesson -- one that has already cost $600,000 --
about the proper wood to use in work at Phipps Conservatory.
In 1985, the original Southern cypress used in window frames and ceiling ''ribs" in rooms
at the stately Victorian glass house in Schenley Park was replaced.
The replacement wood was Southern cypress, too, and was supposed to last for
decades, as had the cypress that was installed when the historic building was built in 1893.
The 1985 work had to be done over again last year because the cypress lumber used
was not old enough. It had already started to rot under the heat and moisture of the flower
gardens, said Larry Yatch, president of the new private board that took over the
management of Phipps from the city last summer.
A contractor hired by the city "used the wrong cypress, and then it had to be replaced, at
great expense," Yatch said this week.
The 1985 replacement work, which cost about $600,000, was done on three rooms in the
west wing of Phipps by Mistick Construction, a North Side contractor. It was done for the
second time, for another $600,000, by Pugliano Construction Co. last fall.
The wood used in 1985 came from trees 70 or 80 years old that didn't have the moisture-
resistant qualities possessed by older cypress. The older trees, the type used in the original
1893 construction, were 200 years old or older.
"They don't hire me to be a wood expert," said Tom Mistick, president of the firm. "I had
no previous experience installing cypress. I've never used cypress before in my life, or
since."
Yatch estimates that replacement cypress installed in one of the east wing rooms in 1984
by another firm -- a firm that may no longer be in business -- will also need to be replaced.
That could add another $500,000 to the repair costs.
 Yatch said his private board of directors would have to pick up the tab for future wood
replacement. The renovation in the west wing rooms was paid for, both times, by the city.
City Controller Tom Flaherty said the situation again showed the need for the city to have
a wood expert on staff.
"This is another glaring, costly mistake concerning the purchase of wood," said Flaherty,
who two years ago denounced suppliers who he said were selling the city low-quality wood
at top prices.
"There still isn't anyone who works for the city who knows anything about wood. I think
it's the city's responsibility to have someone who can ensure that the wood we purchase is
up to quality."
The mistakes spawned two lawsuits.
The city is suing Mistick, claiming that the firm used the wrong type of cypress, and is
seeking $669,000. Most of the damages are for work that had to be done to replace the
rotting wood, but the city also wants money for personnel costs and lost revenues at the
Schenley Park facility.
In turn, Mistick Construction is suing the city, trying to recoup $357,000 in expenses it
says resulted from delays that the city caused in a later phase of the Phipps reconstruction
work done in 1989.
According to the city's complaint, "Mistick knew" it was using wood that was "inferior" to
the original, some of which was still intact 90 years after installation.
Tom Mistick strongly denied doing anything wrong.
"The city asked for 'cypress,' " he said. "The city didn't say old or new cypress. In my
view, it was unfortunate that the city specified material that proved, after the fact, that it
didn't have desirable performance characteristics."
Common Pleas Judge Gene Strassburger denied parts of the city's claim in March, and
the city is now appealing his decision to state Commonwealth Court.
William Clifford, Mistick's lawyer, called the city's suit "bogus" and said he considered it
"retaliation" for the lawsuit Mistick filed against the city.
Southern cypress is a relatively rare tree that grows mainly in warm, Southeastern areas
such as Mississippi and Louisiana.
First growth, or virgin timber, can be 200 or more years old; second growth represents
trees planted to replace older, harvested trees, and is at most 80 years old.
When it came time to replace the rotting cypress last year, city officials made sure they
got first-growth wood.
Because so few 200-year-old trees remain uncut, the city had to get the wood it needed
from a warehouse in Louisiana that was being torn down, city engineer Bruce Padolf said.
LIB4

ID: 1304291
Tag: 199401230032

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