Upper West Side Apartment Building
New York, NY
Structural Repair
This is a major structural repair project for a 100-year-old building in Manhattan. A subtle flaw in the typical construction method used for multi-story apartment buildings at the time made the steel framing vulnerable to corrosion from condensation in winter. When a roof replacement project uncovered some concealed corroded steel framing, Conlon was called in to assess the situation and offer their professional opinion. Conlon identified the problem as systemic and carefully explained to the owners what repairs were needed.
Because of the nature of this unanticipated repair project, the Conlon team provided their necessary professional guidance and expertise, which included designing replacement framing for 100% of the roof structure. Importantly, the design enabled construction of the work at roof level while allowing the top floor residents to remain in their apartments throughout construction.
As the roof repair project wound down and work shifted to restoration of the exterior façade, the work evolved into major structural repairs to the steel framing along the façade. Years of leaks through the brick façade had led to severe deterioration of several steel beams and columns. As one of only a few structural engineers capable of boarding swing scaffolding to access a building exterior from high above the ground, Conlon examined the street façade framing from the scaffolding and designed repairs to several of them.
