Morton Buildings of Meadville had the frame up on the new Kirila Contractors Inc. welding shop two days ahead of schedule.
A small army of workers from Groover Roofing and Siding, Girard, was equally fast in replacing the roof at the Kirila main building next door on Joy Road in Brookfield.
Neither company worked as quickly as the Father’s Day tornado, which damaged the roof and destroyed the weld shop, but Mike Kirila said he will take it.
“Just very satisfied with both Groover and Morton Buildings, their speed and the quality of their work,” he said Aug. 16.
The companies reminded Kirila of how Kirila Contractors strives to work, he said.
“You don’t have to worry about them,” he said. “They do great work.”
Kirila, who works primarily as an estimator but also has been a laborer and an equipment operator in the family-owned business, said it was “devastating” when he saw the damage left by the tornado, which cut a straight-line swath across the township from Warner Road to the Sharon line.
“But, we moved ahead,” he said. It took two days to clean up the mess, which included ripped sheets of aluminum from the weld shop thrown down Joy Road, and many Kirila employees came in on their off hours to help.
“We have great employees,” he said.
promo“A lot” of the main building roof was damaged, from part of the flat-roof membrane being “flipped over” and other sections subject to penetrating debris. Leaks were plugged temporarily until an insurance claim could be worked out and companies hired.
The work is completely funded by insurance, and the weld shop, which primarily was used to repair company equipment, also will be used for some storage, Kirila said.
“Just trying to replace what we had,” he said.
Two Kirila family homes were damaged by the tornado and will be repaired later, he said.