Sacred Heart Church Renovation - Omaha, NE

Monday, May 12th, 2014 by John Siwicki

Challenge

May 2009 Sacred Heart Church is a stone and brick structure built in 1897 and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. A major renovation project began in 2009. In order to refurbish and paint the high ceilings, scaffolding had to be erected atop the existing structural floor system. However, the floor system required supplemental support from within the crawlspace to carry the additional weight of the scaffolding and miscellaneous construction equipment and materials. A preliminary design consisted of poured concrete footings with masonry columns, which was going to be difficult and costly to install within the tight confines of the crawlspace.

Solution

The General Contractor named Thrasher Basement Systems, Inc. (Thrasher) to discuss potential alternatives. Thrasher recommended the use of Foundation Supportworks’ SmartJacks™, a supplemental support system designed specifically for crawl space applications. Some of the SmartJack™ system design features include: two feet of compacted crushed stone base, a precast concrete footing, a 3 1/2 - inch diameter steel column, and an adjustable thread rod to set the height. All of the steel components are either hot-dip galvanized or zinc plated for corrosion protection. After reviewing the technical information, the architect approved the use of SmartJacks™ for the project. The SmartJack™ system does not require poured concrete footings, so there was no delay waiting for concrete to cure. Twenty-two (22) SmartJacks™ were installed within three days, which allowed the renovation project to remain on schedule.

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