DERRY — The replacement of the West Running Brook Middle School gym floor is moving along ahead of schedule, according to Jane Simard, the district’s finance director.

Work on the new floor began on June 18, the first Monday after school closed for the year, and should be ready well before the opening of the new school year in September.

Earlier this year, the floor was damaged when a hot-water pipe burst. Rather than just replacing the damaged portion of the floor, the School Board approved a plan for a new gym floor for $130,000, $85,000 of which will be covered by the district’s insurance policy.

Several board members said that with the insurance money to cover two-thirds of the cost, it made sense to move forward with replacing the entire gym floor.

Simard said a new floor would last longer and also would use material that has more of a spring to it and would be less liable to suffer water damage.

She praised the job the contractors, Danaher Flooring of Vermont, have done thus far.

“They have been here Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” Simard said. “They have worked really hard in the heat and have been doing a great job.”

The initial plan had the contractors removing the bleachers from the gym, but Simard said they have been able to move the bleachers back and forth within the gym to remove the existing flooring and install the sub-flooring and maple top flooring.

Although the floor’s finish will be the same as the previous floor, Simard said the new gym floor will more readily be able to expand if water does get into it without being damaged, preventing the type of incident that damaged the gym earlier in the year.

Once completed, the maintenance of the floor will not significantly change, although Simard said the maintenance staff is looking to cover the floor more frequently with matting to preserve its integrity.

According to the contractors, once the work is complete, it will have to sit for one week before it can be used.

“Because the project is ahead of schedule, we’ll probably be able to leave it vacant for more than a week,” Simard said.

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Adam Swift may be reached at aswift@newstote.com.