Saturday, July 25, 2009

Old Building in OKC

Several weeks ago, maybe months ago, I posted about an old building in downtown OKC that I was asked to help a guy renovate into some offices for his construction company. The building is at least 80 years old. It was used to manufacture vanilla flavoring. Pretty sure the building was used to make whisky and other spirits during Prohibition, but no one knows for sure. Anyway, the bridge next to the building (kinda visible behind the building in the first photo) is one that I drive over alot. I've looked at this building for years and the cracks in the wall nearest the bridge. Always thought someone should demolish the building before it fell down. As luck would have it, I'm working with the owner to determine how to stabilize and restore the structural integrity of the building. These are photos of the building. The top photo is the front. The next two photos show the two giant cracks that are clearly visible from an automobile passing across the bridge. The next photo is a view of the basement where the owner has removed the floor slab down to the soil. The next photo is a typical view of the first floor and the wood framing. The last photo is at the 2nd floor level. Those columns are not painted black. They are charred... from a pretty severe fire that occurred sometime in the past. The roof was replaced, but the previous owner kept the charred columns. All of the columns and roof framing in the last photo will be completely replaced. The black stuff in the other photos is mostly crud. Alot of the wood joists will need to be replaced at the 2nd floor and first floor levels. Got my work cut out for me. I thought the architect gave me some renderings showing what the finished building will look like, but I can't find them. Must have just shown them to me during a meeting. Anyway, thought some of you might be interested.







2 comments:

eleanor said...

My what a challenge but I know my son-in-law (favorite that is) can do it. Love ya

Tara said...

That's an awesome building. Those huge cracks are pretty scary, though. The architect knew who to call for this project, that's for sure!