Winter Storm Damages Warehouse Roof, Suspends Knoxville Operations
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Winter Storm Damages Warehouse Roof, Suspends Knoxville Operations
Knoxville, TN, January 16, 2024 — House-Hasson Hardware is suspending operations at its Knoxville warehouse after heavy snow on its warehouse roof caused a steel I-beam to bend, bursting a water pipe feeding the facility’s sprinkler system.
Deliveries to House-Hasson’s independent hardware store and lumberyard dealers will continue without interruption from the company’s 275,000 square-foot warehouse in Prichard, W. Va.
House-Hasson’s Knoxville warehouse had planned to be closed for at least several days because of heavy snow that fell on Monday, Jan. 15. House-Hasson officials said snow-choked roads leading to and within the Forks of the River Industrial Park make it unsafe for employees to try to reach the warehouse.
Structural engineers have been inspecting the building to determine what repairs are needed. How long it will take is uncertain, but company officials said they hoped it would be relatively soon, so that operations could resume at about the time the snow melts and makes it safe for employees to return.
“It’s not something you can brace with a two-by-four, but it’s certainly nothing like a roof failure either,” said Steve Henry, House-Hasson president and CEO. “As one might imagine, we’re working on this very diligently and urgently.”
Apart from the broken pipe, there was no damage to the interior of the warehouse; nothing fell from the ceiling, and no one was injured.
The Prichard warehouse, from which dealer deliveries will be made without interruption, contains practically all products available from the Knoxville warehouse.
“The incident in our Knoxville warehouse won’t stop us from serving our dealers, though in the short term it may slow us down slightly.”
The I-beam supporting a portion of the flat-roofed, 450,000 square-foot warehouse, bent sometime Monday evening. Snow measured up to 10 inches at the industrial park. On an average day, 225 office and warehouse employees work in the facility.
The Knox County fire marshal inspected the building and said repairs were necessary before operations could resume.
“We were already closed because of the weather, and we weren’t going to restart in any case until the roads are safe and the problem with the roof is corrected,” Henry said. “We’re optimistic that the roof repairs will not require a lengthy process, and we are underway on determining exactly what’s necessary and how long it will take.”
House-Hasson is America’s largest independent regional hardware distributor. The company’s website is www.househasson.com.