The Frick Building BEC

Title: The Frick Building BEC

Award Category: Building Enclosure

Project Address/Location

437 Grant Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15219
United States

Submitted By: Steven Bentz

Company Info

BECS

8305 Merrifield Ave
UnitA
Fairfax, VA 22031
United States

7034027121

[email protected]

Project Description and Background: Built in 1901 on what was called Grant’s Hill, the Frick building was at the time the tallest building in Pittsburgh. The Frick was the first building in Pittsburgh to have banked elevators, one bank servicing floors 2-11 and another bank servicing floors 11-20. In 1905 a large public works project was undertaken by the City of Pittsburgh to eliminate what they called “the Hump” which was the severe grade change at Grant’s Hill. At this time, the lower story of the Frick which was originally built below grade became the first floor, resulting in a change in the cladding and a revamping of the ground floor to allow what was basement to become the current lobby configuration. The cornice that encircles the building at the 20th floor is original to the building and comprised of solid granite stones and steel framing. Over a 3+ year restoration project that began when a ~1 ton section of granite crashed to the city street 300-feet below BECS was the BEC for the facade, roof, and Building Maintenance Unit (BMU) for The Frick Building. The project began as a causation investigation into the stone cornice failure and evolved into a stabilization, repair, and restoration of the granite building façade; a roof replacement, and finally into the installation of a specialized window washing and façade maintenance system. Challenges encountered included permit department coordination, façade access, antiquated structural systems, budgetary constraints, a site fire, and site logistics. The insurance claim process for this building owner would stretch into a nearly 5 year effort. See attached article for expanded details.

Scope: BECS was retained to investigate the initial stone failure, develop temporary safety measures to secure the remaining stone, determine the cause, and develop the repair. Over the course of the project, the entire stone cornice would be restored and BECS developed the repair details and performed on-site quality assurance while the repairs were in progress. Site visits were made to check on progress and to review if the installed work matched the specs. Load testing of epoxy anchors was performed to determine in-field design strength that were used in the development of the new stone hanger designs. Fall protection and facade access system components were load tested. Various ASTM and AAMA field water testing methodologies were employed in the development of the roof repair details to assist in determining the leak infiltration points for roof gutters and flashings. See attached article for expanded details.

Solution: The most notable solutions implemented on this project were the following: - Use of modern, state-of-the-art, epoxy anchors to take the place of antiquated steel stone hangers - Consultant value engineering to review the proposed scaffold solutions and develop the courtyard-bridging scaffold to address roof demolition and debris removal. - Consultant value engineering to develop alternate facade access system using multiple types of systems to replace the antiquated and unsafe trolley beam BMU. - Development of fluid-applied roofing state-of-the-art material details to preserve existing historic copper built-in gutter details, edge details, and drainage strategies. This was also a value engineering approach. - Development of unique cornice repair details to ensure long-term performance using readily available materials. See attached article for expanded details.

Value: The Consultant added expertise and understanding of historic construction methods, an understanding of building repair design, and a holistic building envelope approach to each of the repair items. The Client was initially concerned more with the reaction to the specific repair need, and the Contractor was primarily concerned with how to access the work area; the Consultant was able to bring the understanding of how to answer the questions of "what next?" or "what if?" once the team achieved the milestones of moderating the public perception and providing access to the work area. The Consultant provided on-call and on-site design services to assist the team in quickly implementing the repair work, plus the Consultant interfaced with the Buidling Department and acted as a conduit between the project team and the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Throughout the project, the AHJ relied upon the Consultant to inform them of the safety of the project, the building, and the general public. This project resulted in revisions and modifications to how the City of Pittsburgh enforced their Facade Inspection Ordinance because of the Consultant's direct interfacing with the AHJ. See attached article for expanded details.

Project Images

Additional Info: This project was a feature-length article in the SWRI Applicator (article is in the uploads) and has been presented at SWRI (link to presentation is included). SWRI will consent to the re-use/resubmission of this article/presentation for IIBEC use.

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