The owner of the company that installed the Berkeley Institute gym roof has scotched claims that the work was not done correctly.

Kaissa Ltd. co-owner Edward Lawrence said claims this week from SKB Coatings owner Ricky Sousa and former Public Works Board member Graeme Outerbridge were factually incorrect.

Mr. Sousa and Mr. Outerbridge alleged that the installers did not follow SKB specifications for foam tiles at a crucial stage and said they expected more leaks to follow.

The Berkeley Institute opened to students for the first time last week after being completed three years late and more than $50 million over budget. When students arrived, it emerged that the gym roof had already sprung a leak. Principal Michelle Simmons said the problem occurred during Hurricane Florence.

Hitting back over Mr. Sousa and Mr. Outerbridge's claims yesterday, Mr. Lawrence said that they had been talking about the way the traditional "profile" sloping roof was installed ? when the leak was actually in the flat part of the roof.

He said that the problem was with the "flashing" detail in that area, where four bolts installed for maintenance purposes go through a pre-manufactured sheet membrane. It had been established that it was necessary to create a protective box over the fittings, and this had subsequently been done, said Mr. Lawrence.

On the topic of the sloping roof, Mr. Lawrence said the Kaissa system interlocked like SKB's, and was just as effective.

Kaissa installed around a third of the Berkeley Institute's roof. Asked if he thought the school would leak again, he said: "I think there is a chance. As with any job, there will be leaks. We were brought in after Pro-Active were brought off the job and I cannot speak to anything before August of last year."

Mr. Outerbridge and Mr. Sousa could not be reached last night for a response to Mr. Lawrence's comments. However, speaking prior to this, Mr. Sousa accused Minister of Works and Engineering David Burch of trying to mount a cover-up over the leak.

He branded a Ministerial statement issued on Monday which accused him and Mr. Outerbridge of making misleading comments "a load of bull", and stated: "I stand by everything I said."

Mr. Outerbridge accused the Minister of "shooting the messenger", and said: "We have no axe to grind."