714 Sullivan
2009 Excellence in Construction Award Winner
About five years ago, a review of College buildings was completed. 714 Sullivan was considered for complete demolition due to the extreme amount of termite damage and deterioration of its building elements and structure. In 2008, a decision was made to follow the College’s Green Silver Standard and restore this structure.
Miller, Miller & McLachlan was contracted by Lafayette College at the conception of the project to be their Construction Manager along with KSS Architects, Keast & Hood and Snyder Hoffman as the Design Team. In 2007, budgets were completed based on a preliminary set of documents. Due to the extensive repairs required we set the construction time at 11 months. Interest in the Project dropped off until July of 2008.
After reviving the project Lafayette College directed the Design Team and Miller, Miller & McLachlan to revise the current plans and complete a GMP Proposal for the Board of Trustees approval in October. M3 received a revised set of Documents on 9/11/08. This set was 80% complete. A Pre-Bid walk through was completed on 9/16/08 with subcontractors and suppliers. Bids were received and the GMP Proposal submitted to the College by 9/30/08. Board of Trustees Approval was granted on 10/06/08. A Construction kick off meeting was arranged for 10/09/08.
The August 1, 2009 Deadline was set for project completion. This reduced construction time from eleven months to a little over nine months. Shortly after the demolition was started M3 was given another set of revised construction documents from the owner and design team. It took (28) pages to list the changes indicated in the new documents. Miller, Miller & McLachlan worked though the changes with subcontractors and suppliers to adjust the contract to the new directives.
Construction started with the extensive demolition package even before the Building Permit was received. Demolition and any work that did not require City of Easton inspection continued, while the 3rd Party review process tied up the release of the Building Permit. Differences on Code interpretation were settled and the Permit was released in March 2009. At this point, we could request required inspections. The actual construction time remaining was now down to little over (5) months. The August 1, 2009 Deadline remained fixed.
The overall goal was to completely renovate this Neo Georgian building, giving it a serviceable life of 20-30 years. To satisfy the Donor and the College this had to be completed in a way that would leave the building’s exterior appearance unchanged while recreating a unique décor on the interior.
This 3.3 Million-Dollar renovation resulted in the transformation of the 10,900 SF Phi Delta Theta Fraternity into Scott Hall, a dynamic 21st century building with state of the art mechanical, electrical and communications systems.
The Structure was totally gutted. Wood floors and wood structure had to be removed on each floor to allow the installation of an elevator and two new internal stair towers. To accomplish this, over $80,000.00 in temporary shoring was required by Engineers to stabilize the structure.
Exterior work included new roofs and flashings. All rotted wood fascias, soffits and trim were removed and repaired. North and south porches were shored up and all wood columns removed and replace with new fiberglass columns to match the original ones.
On the south porch the wood handrails were completely removed and replaced. On the north porch the wood handrails were repaired in place. All exterior trim work was completed to duplicate and restore the original appearance of this historic building.
Exterior concrete work included a new handicapped ramp, new stairs to the north and south porches and two new area ways. All new and existing area ways received stainless steel grating over them for future fall safety. Concrete work on the interior of the building included removal and replacing of about 90% of the existing basement floors, installation of the elevator pit and other structural foundations, as well as pouring of the steel stair pans and landings.
Lafayette College Campus sits on a ridge of Blue Limestone. Over $33,089.00 was expended removing rock for the elevator pit, structural foundations and plumbing.
Exterior masonry repairs included removing many of the masonry heads over the windows and reinstalling them with a new galvanized steel lintel. Total repointing of the exterior of the building was added to the project along with the new trash and mechanical enclosures.
Windows in the basement and first floors were completely removed due to past termite damaged. These were replaced with Marvin custom window units that were made to fit the existing opening. All are clad on the exterior including extruded aluminum trim that was intended to match the original wood trim. Second and third floor windows were replaced with Marvin Tilt-Pac windows.
All wood floors were jacked up and straightened as much as possible. All required the installation of a wood sister against each existing joist. This was needed to change the floor loading requirements from the existing residence up to the Code Requirements for an office.
After the installation of the wood sisters another $10,000.00 was invested to improve the final level and walk ability of each floor.
The first floor features new men’s and women’s HC toilets, four offices, a study with a kitchenette and a State of the Art Experimental Electronic Seminar room. The main lobby has red oak hardwood floors with inlaid carpeting. Early on in the construction the main wood stairs were removed and replaced with a new wood stairs that meet current Code requirements. A new vestibule was introduced to the interior of the lobby to help temper the air in the reception area.
All wood trim, wainscot and wood doors throughout the building are quarter sawn red oak.
The second floor includes the main Reception office along with a women’s room and five individual offices. The reception area features swinging glass windows and a custom reception desk that allows this area to be open to student interaction with the office staff.
The third floor includes a men’s room, five tutor cubical, a copy room, four individual offices, two open offices and a Conference room with a widescreen TV.
In an effort to insure privacy in each office, sound batt insulation was installed between the floor joists. This was followed by the installation of a layer of 5/8” drywall across the bottom of the joists. All interior walls received an additional layer of 5/8” drywall and sound batt insulation. All Doors have sound seals including a drop seal mortised into the base of the door.
Installation of the mechanical systems was extremely difficult due to space limitations of working in an older building. Floor to floor elevation differences did not allow the amount of space to run ductwork that is normally given in new construction. Creative solutions were worked out between on site Contractors and the Design Team.
The HVAC system includes converting College steam to hot water for heating and energy recovery equipment. The control package is by Siemens. This system allows Plant Operations to monitor the building and make adjustments from a remote location. Their ability includes making changes that impact comfort in each room.
There is a new Fire Alarm System a Burglar Alarm System and a Card Reader Access System. All three are monitored by Campus Department of Public Safety on a 24 hour a day basis. The building has multiple computer outlets in each room as well as a wireless technology.
Completion of this project was on time and under budget. Miller, Miller and McLachlan has received many compliments on the craftsmanship found in each of the building elements.