Photos: Elliot Lake mall had issues for years before roof collapse

Saturday's roof collapse at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., left two people dead and 22 injured. In the days since, we've learned more about structural issues plaguing the mall prior to the collapse.

In a series of photos posted on Facebook by Brandi Duquette, the mall is shown as having numerous issues including leaky ceilings, rusted support beams, crumbling bricks and parts of ceiling tiles falling to the floor. Duquette writes in the photo captions that the photos are all taken by Bonni Ladell between February and early June of this year.

[ Full photo gallery: See more of Bonni Ladell's photos of the mall ]

In the captions, she also writes that workers doing patch work to the roof was a common sight.

Residents of the close-knit community have long complained about the state of disrepair, saying buckets were often used to catch dripping water all around the mall.

"It's not shocking to me that this happened," said contractor Glen Day to Global News. "Every time it rained when I was there, there were buckets placed all over the place."

Day said he was hired in 2008 by the mall's owner to patch up the leaky roof and prepare it for a waterproofing system. Day quoted the owner just under $1 million for the job, which included a waterproofing membrane to prevent further leaking. But the work was never approved and the membrane was never installed.

"They were doing a band-aid job," Day said.

A mall spokesperson told Global News repairs have been done to sections of the roof, but not in the area that collapsed.

[ Related Gallery: Elliot Lake search and rescue operation ]

(Photos by Bonnie Ladell and uploaded by Brandi Duquette on Facebook)

With files from The Canadian Press