BLACKSBURG -- Christopher Neck was used to stepping around buckets when he dropped off or picked up his daughter, Giselle, from class at the Center of Dance on Draper Road.

After all, it's a very old downtown building with a flat roof.

But Neck couldn't believe it recently when he found the drip-catching buckets still there after Virginia Tech students remodeled the studio in December for an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

He called the ongoing leaks "ridiculous" given the amount of labor and materials contributed to the project as part of a gift to local artist and retired ballerina Carol Crawford Smith.

Smith was chosen last year by "Extreme Makeover" to get a new house and remodeled studio because of her contributions to the community and mobility problems she suffered after contracting multiple sclerosis five years ago.

A special two-hour episode of the show featuring Smith and the Blacksburg project is set to air Feb. 12 on WSET (Channel 13).

Smith has rented space at 215 Draper Road for her Center of Dance for 11 years. For about half that time, she's wrestled with a leaky roof that has worsened over the years.

Tonia Moxley | Roanoke Times

Despite the makeover project, the leaks drip on in the studio.

"It's very frustrating. ... This has been a stress point of mine with the studio," Smith said.

Smith, along with "Extreme Makeover" producers and the contractors who worked on the project, believed the owner had fixed the problems.

But a thin brown muck started dripping from the ceiling again shortly after the television crew left town.

To catch the constant drips, buckets sit on the gleaming new floors and furniture and hang from strategic spots in the freshly painted rafters.

The building that houses the studio is owned by CFC Investments LLC, and managed by Blue Ridge Real Estate, successor companies to former owner HCMF Corp.

David Branch of Blue Ridge Real Estate did not return calls seeking comment on the studio's roof problems.

Christina O'Connor | Roanoke Times

Carol Crawford Smith sits on the newly remodeled stairwell to her studio.

But Chuck George, a teacher at Smith's studio and former roofer, said this week that the company is taking the leaks seriously.

The company has hired professional roofers from North Carolina, who have been finding and patching some of the leaks, George said.

But the problems continue, and now Blacksburg building official Cathy Cook is involved. The leaks violate maintenance codes for leased commercial buildings, she said Wednesday.

She has inspected the building once and directed the company to fix the problems.

If the leaks continue, Cook may recommend that the owner seal or replace the entire roof, she said.

Replacement, according to Chuck George, could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Smith said this week that while she's disappointed the roof is still leaking, she's grateful that CFC Investments waived her rental fees for the next two years as part of the makeover.

News researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report.