MITCHELL — At 5 a.m. on a Monday this month, Melissa Schwalm got a wake up call she never expected.
Water was pouring through three floors of her building at 322 N. Main St. because of a clogged roof drainpipe leaking through the ceiling.
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“Then it showered down throughout every level of the building,” Schwalm said. “I was soaked.”
Schwalm was quick to save photos, her grandfather’s military service papers and family documents from the store room.
“Just things I couldn't even have replaced,” Schwalm said.
By 9 a.m., FloorTec was on site cleaning up the water. The company spent about a week drying out the building with fans and industrial dehumidifiers.
Schwalm believes a lot of little items from a recent roof replacement project were compacted in the drain, which then caused the water to flow through the ceiling.
The foam acrylic roof was recoated by a Minnesota-based contractor, who had also coated her roof in 2013.
The roof project received a $6,720 grant from the BID No. 3 tax and grant program for Main Street store front improvements.
Schwalm noted her insurance includes additional coverage for plumbing backups, with up to $50,000 available to repair the damage. Sh...