Law Offices
LD Kerns worked hand in hand with an owner and architect who had a vision for restoring a prominent corner in downtown Tulsa. We overcame numerous building challenges to restore a delapidated structure and working within a 100 year flood plane.
This was a negotiated project designed by The McIntosh Group Architects. The concept for this project was to utilize the historic portion of the existing structure which had originally been an Texaco station built in the 50’s and to remove and replace the newer portion of the structure which had most recently served as a dining room for a restaurant that had occupied the building for several years.
The existing structure that remained is a double wythe masonry structure with wood framed roof and roof deck. The new structure is a 2 story, 3,000 s.f. wood frame structure tied to the original structure.
The existing structure was completely gutted including the roof membrane. Once the new structure to create the office space was complete, a new roof was installed and the new structure was convered in stucco. All existing floors received a topping slab to provide a smooth surface to receive concrete stain.
One major challenge we had to overcome was that several months after we had started the City of Tulsa notified our team that the project was located in an 100 year flood plane and that the building would have to be waterproof to 3’ a.f.f and there could be no penetrations in the building below 3’ a.f.f. This was not feasible due to the doors needed to access the building and that the 3 original garage doors were to receive storefront glazing that would go below the 3’ a.f.f. criteria.
The solution was to utilize a waterproof coating on the existing construction which was to remain exposed masonry and to utilize a rubber roofing membrane under the stucco. The solution to the penetrations for doors and windows was to construct custom flood gates that were removable and would seal to the inside of the doors and windows. These were custom built utilizing new idea’s which had arisen from the recent Hurricane Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans.
LDKC performed this project in just over 7 months by utilizing C.P.M. scheduling with weekly updates and with zero lost time accidents due to our continuing safety program and training we perform. LDKC also administered the quality control for this project which resulted in an extremely satisfied client and an aesthetically pleasing project which retained historic construction in lieu of taking the easy path and removing the existing construction.
The project is unique in that the historic construction was retained and added to in a manner which resulted in an functional space for our client as well as a project that is consistent with the existing construction in the area thereby retaining the historic look of this particular location.
