The sprawling Shaker Heights High School building is home to many different examples of beautiful historic masonry and architecture. Cleveland Building Restoration was called in to handle various masonry restoration jobs across the school as part of a large renovation project.
As part of a large restoration project taking place over the 2020 summer break, Shaker Heights High School was turning an existing common area into a new lunchroom. To let additional light in, they wanted to cut and install two large, arched window openings into the brick walls. Cutting the openings—which were 18 feet by 6 feet—into the walls would prove to be no small task. It would require the building to be shored before the window installation could begin.
The other significant challenge on the project was time. Before any of the work began, the job was already ten days behind. The tight timeline meant all parties involved, including Cleveland Building Restoration, would need to make a significant push to complete the job in August 2020.
Beginning in mid-May 2020, Jack Burke, project manager at Cleveland Building Restoration, led a crew of varying size, depending on the tasks at hand, in completing the intricate masonry restoration work. He worked closely with the general contractor as well as the architect on the project to determine the building’s shoring needs. Ultimately, he helped identify a solution that would save significant time and money for the client.
Then, the team spent more than a month carefully cutting the expansive arched window openings into the brick walls. The work, which was very detailed and intricate, included the creation of arches in the brick that protruded from the building’s exterior. The team also replaced the existing white marble window sills and the sandstone headers and keystones. Along with the creation of the two main arched windows, the Cleveland Building Restoration team also handled other miscellaneous masonry needs around the building, such as cutting out doorways into existing brick and creating other small window openings.
Another large task for the CBR crew was to handle the masonry infilling work. The general contractor took out the flooring on the third floor of the building in order to install an 80-foot-long and 3-foot-wide steel beam to serve as a temporary support for the roof. Jack and his crew infilled and built up the brick and block to the point where the floor had been removed.
Despite the time crunch, CBR completed the job on schedule in August 2020. Both the client and the window fabricator noted that the installed window arches were beautiful and could not have been more perfect.
This was also a special moment for Aaron, the new foreman on the job from CBR. Despite this being one of his first projects, Aaron stepped up to the challenge and provided stellar leadership for his crew.
Cleveland Building Restoration was grateful for the opportunity to work on this unique masonry restoration project for Shaker Heights High School. Students, staff, and families will certainly enjoy the beauty of the building’s restored masonry and architecture for years to come.
