EVERETT — It’s what you might call a faucet faux pas.

Snohomish County’s recently remodeled Carnegie Building absorbed significant water damage last month after an open tap ran for an entire weekend.

The faucet was left — or maybe accidentally knocked — open on a Friday. By the time the problem was discovered the following Monday, the overflowing water had caused more than a quarter-million-dollars worth of repairs, largely for floors and drywall.

“It flooded part of the first floor and the empty floor below,” county spokesman Kent Patton said.

The historic library building on Oakes Avenue, next to the Snohomish County Jail, re-opened this year as a social services hub. That came after a structural and aesthetic overhaul that took years and cost at least $3.8 million. The 1905 building was one of thousands built in the era with a grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

These days, the Everett building houses the Carnegie Resource Center, where clients can walk in for help with housing, employment or behavioral health services.

The building is old. The floors aren’t level. Patton said the uneven surface may have prevented worse damage. Some offices had to move to the other half of the building for at least a week.

“They had to move out for a little while but they are back now,” Patton said.

The Snohomish County Council on Monday approved three contracts for emergency repairs totalling $275,000.

One was for immediate cleanup and ventilation, a second to install new floors and a third to replace dry wall and other damaged materials.

Insurance is expected to cover all but a $100,000 deductible, Patton said. The county hopes to recoup that from a janitorial contractor’s insurer.

As of late last week, the county had not received a water bill, but estimated the overflow was more than 10,000 gallons.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.