The construction period was extended by three weeks when workers discovered the elevator's cylinder, which encases a piston, was off-centre.
Only one company in Ontario, Munch said, is qualified to re-drill elevator cylinders in existing buildings. That company was brought on board as fast as possible to get the renovations back on track, he said.
In mid-September Munch told NorthernLife.ca the elevator would be running again by early October.
“We're expecting in about two weeks for the elevator to be kind of re-opened and accessible for the residents again,” Munch said.
But in an interview Wednesday, when NorthernLife.ca received calls that the elevator was still out of commission, Munch corrected himself and said the drilling to repair the cylinder was expected to be finished by early October.
“It's a minor oversight, whether it's two weeks to do the drilling or two weeks to complete the job,” he said.
Of the building's 100 residents, Munch said only two have been “really agitated” about the elevator. “The other 98 people in the building seem to be coping just fine, and accepting it, and hanging on until it gets completed in the next week or two,” he said.
Linda Attfield told NorthernLife.ca she worries about her 85-year-old mother, a resident in the building, who has limited mobility due to a hip replacement.
Attfield said she was frustrated the elevator was still not renovated by Oct. 29.
“It's really ridiculous,” she said. “I don't know what more I can do.”
Attfield said her mother, who lives on the building's second floor, has resorted to throwing her bag of laundry down each flight of stairs to wash her clothes on the main floor.
Finlandia has had volunteers on hand to carry groceries and other heavier items for residents who live in the building's two top floors, but they have not been available at all hours.
Munch said Finlandia's newer buildings have two elevators, and having more than one elevator will be a priority for any future buildings to avoid inconveniencing residents.
