Kickoff Meeting!!

Today was our BIG construction kickoff meeting since our approval from the Historic District Commission on January 6th. Attending the meeting was, Michael Bruss from Bruss Construction & Structural Engineer, Jeff Nawrocki from JSN Associates, James Petersen & Myself (Ryan Lacey) from Petersen Engineering. We spent a majority of the time in the basement. Jeff was able to confirm that our first floor structure was in pretty rough shape. The 150+ years of high humidity has turned most of the beams into what feels like a flakey balsa wood. He was able to push a screwdriver completely into some of the beams! The plan for action isn't completely firmed up or on paper but it is looking like we are going to be replacing most of the major beams with LVL or steel in addition to sistering most of the existing floor joists for extra strength.

Before doing any work we are going to need to clean up the basement ceiling. There are pipes to nowhere, sloppy wires, things attached to beams we know are going to be removed and random nails/spikes everywhere. This is something we plan on having done immediately. The slab and material below the slab is ready to be removed. Our test pits let us know that it is safe to dig. Digging this floor out now is a necessary step for dropping the slab down as well as a relief for anybody taller then 5'6" that wishes to walk and not hit their head while working on the building.

In addition to exploring the basement and discussing what needs to be done down there, Michael was able to confirm that Bruss Construction will be mobilizing to get to work on the roof immediately!