DIAMOND HEAD — With movers scheduled to start dismantling temporary offices today, construction crews were working furiously yesterday sawing door sills and checking connections on electrical outlets at the newly renovated American Red Cross Hawai'i State Chapter permanent offices on the slopes of Diamond Head.

The 40-plus full-time staffers and numerous Red Cross volunteers have spent the past two years in two locations — a trailer behind Kalani High School and in space at the Bank of Hawaii building Downtown, said Coralie Chun Matayoshi, chief executive officer for the agency.

Today they will begin moving back into their home, a 30-year-old building that was in dire need of upgrading, both with American with Disabilities Act improvements and much-needed maintenance.

Carpets were held together with duct tape. Office chairs were rickety and mismatched. Small-scale air conditioning cooled the building. The courtyard constantly required maintenance and weeds were growing through cracks in the floor.

"The whole building was gutted," Matayoshi said. "We tried to make the space more efficient."

The $5 million renovation project began in 2005 and included enclosing an outdoor courtyard, creating more meeting space — including a much-needed disaster operations center — repainting, replastering, rewiring and upgrading all the plumbing at the two-story building, said Matt Yim, American Red Cross facilities and equipment coordinator.

The building also was strengthened to withstand 100 mph winds. Previously the building was built to withstand 60 mph sustained winds, similar to that of a private home, Matayoshi said.

All of these improvements will allow the Red Cross to operate more effectively, particularly in a hurricane or other natural disaster.

The new building sports a mannequin washing room equipped with a three-compartment sink and a wall shower. The rest is for drying racks for the heads after they're washed and sanitized. In the past, staff would wash the mannequins — they're used for CPR classes — in the bathroom and leave the heads out in the courtyard to dry, Matayoshi said.

In the entryway to the building is a bamboo-paneled wall where donors' names will be displayed in recognition of their gifts to the Red Cross, she said. The bamboo paneling was actually flooring given by a donor, but there wasn't enough for the whole building so it was used on the wall instead, she said.

While the facilities look clean and new, much of the furniture is 30 years old, she said. That's because the cost of renovation came in so high that the Red Cross is actually $600,000 in the hole for its building fund, Matayoshi said.

The Red Cross is not a government agency, but responds to emergencies just as firefighters and paramedics do, Matayoshi said. In addition, the Red Cross teaches 37,000 people each year how to save lives through first aid; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; nurse aid; and workplace, lifeguard and baby-sitter training.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.