Agency office now has a roof overhead

NASHUA – The roof over the Social Security Administration office was finished just in time to beat the arrival of Tuesday’s rain, said the president of a roofing company that did the work.

A drain failed early Sunday morning, swamping the office and other tenants of 175 Amherst St., including a graphics company.

Work had been done before on that drain, according to building tenants, who suspect the drain might have been an issue when the building housed a hardware store eight or nine years ago.

Mike Murray, president of U.S. Roofing of Peabody, Mass., said the flooding likely was due to a “pre-existing condition.”

With the building flooded from last Saturday night’s heavy rain, and more rain approaching, the cause took a back seat to getting the building reopened, Murray said.

“Responsibility is irrelevant once water is entering the building,” he said.

Replacing the roof of a building like the Social Security office is usually a four- or five-day job, Murray said.

But the company called “all hands on deck” and brought as many as 40 workers up to Nashua on Monday, finishing the job by the evening, he said.After the flooding was discovered Sunday morning, U.S. Roofing immediately contacted a cleanup and restoration company to begin the work of mopping up the mess.

Bob Redding, manager of the Social Security office, said that the drain had been capped and the office suffered no additional flooding Tuesday.

He said that he didn’t know if the carpet would have to be replaced or not.

Redding stressed no personal records were lost because of the flooding.

Lee Harrington, owner of Imtek Reprographics, which occupies the ground floor of the split-level building, said his company lost a computer server and potentially other equipment.

Imtek was able to remain open. That wasn’t the case with the Social Security office, which closed for the week.

Redding said the office attracts about 120 visitors a day. While it is closed, the public has other options:

First, they can call 1-800-772-1213 if they have questions.

Or, they could visit the agency’s Web site at www. socialsecurity.gov. A number of services can be done online, such as filing for retirement or disability benefits.

Last, if people need to visit an office in person, they could go either to the Manchester office at 2 Wall St. or to the Lowell, Mass., office at 151 Warren St.