Storm Damage Repair

Structural Damage Repair

Unfortunately, natural disasters happen, and in Georgia and Alabama severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are quite common. Often severe damage can happen to structures, and it takes extensive evaluation and design to correct the problems. We provide services ranging from the initial site assessment to the design of the repair, and working with the contractor to make sure the repairs are done correctly.

Our projects with storm damage repair have ranged from evaluation of roof damage on residences to the design of the replacement of the second story of a commercial building that was hit by a tornado. The damage caused by storms can often totally destroy a structure, and other times the it can be localized. Generally, the major part of the damage is caused by flying debris and falling trees. In some cases there can be direct wind damage also. When evaluating a structure for damage, it's important to check not only for obvious damage, but racking of the framing, and oddly enough, foundation damage often occurs.

SAMPLE PROJECTS:

SIMPLE ROOF EVALUATION

This is a photo from a relatively simple job - we evaluated this house that got hit on the roof by a tree. The focus of our evaluation was to see if there was additional damage to the house other than what was obvious in the photo. We did find a header over a door that had been damaged by the impact.

SOUTHEASTERN AUTOMOTIVE WAREHOUSE

This project was in the Cabbagetown section of Atlanta. It was the Southeastern Automotive Warehouse that had sustained a direct hit from the tornado on March 14, 2008. This photo was taken in the evening when we were called to prepare the design for the repair. The building is rather old, and there weren't any prints available of the existing construction. Making it worse, we had to do the design quickly. The warehouse carries a lot of high value pilferable items, and it had to keep running. About a quarter of its space was lost due to the damage, and even with the temporary repairs, it was open to the elements. So, there was very little time for the usual investigative work. As you can see from the lighting in the photo, we got to the site rather late in the day, and we had to get as much information as we could while it was still light.

We prepared the design in 7 days. To design the repair, we used Bentley RAM Advanse software to create a three dimensional model of the building. We had to design the repair to current codes for wind loads and seismic loading. Instead of unreinforced masonry for the exterior walls, the replacement section will have steel studs with a brick veneer.

Here the project is under construction. We are looking at the building from the front (the rendering above is from the back.

Here's a picture from the left front, which lets you see how the rendering from RAM Advanse is quite close to how the construction actually looks.

This is a view from the inside - you can see the temporary repairs to the left.