Most non-residential projects are delivered late. And then there’s 1095 Market Street in San Francisco, an office-building-to-hotel conversion that was supposed to take 18 months but for a number of reasons – some related to COVID, some for architectural reasons – last spring, five years ago, it was finally completed after the project started.

“It would take me three hours to explain why,” laughed Todd Pesavento, project manager at Skanska USA Building, the general contractor for the project, who also provided the design and construction of mechanical, electrical, fire safety and historical elements. BD + C interviewed Pesavento last week with Jason Wright, Associate Designer and Conservation and Preservation Specialist at Page & Turnbull, who did the majority of the historic restoration of this 115-year-old building.

Pesavento explained that the building, also known as the Grant Building, had “numerous” structural and foundation problems that took a year to install to redesign and relocate. An outer wooden pillar was so worn that it had to be replaced from the 8th floor to the roof six floors above. This replacement also required the removal and replacement of historical bricks. There was also more lead paint in the building than expected that needed refurbishment.

BAR Architects, the architect of the project, had to remodel the storefront on the building’s ground floor and recreate the building’s wooden window system, which is now soundproof and weatherproof.

The building’s lavish brick facade had to be cleaned, repaired and, in some cases, replaced.

Pesavento noted that four of the building’s original terracotta pilasters were covered in multiple layers of paint that were removed. These pilasters were used as models to recreate nine additional pilasters made of glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC), each with seven components.

Wright added that the bricks and terracotta in the center of the building of many different shapes needed to be cleaned and, if necessary, repaired or replaced, which meant tedious color matching.

REPLACING THE BUILDING’S DECORATIVE FLOWER

One of the largest parts of this historic restoration was the reconstruction of missing cornices, which Wright said had been cut off from the building in the 1950s. Page & Turnbull never found the original drawings, but found high-resolution images of the building (with its cornices) in local and state libraries. To recreate the cornices, Skanska and his subs had to work with 3D printed models.

The hotel has several common areas for social and professional purposes.

The finished product is now a Yotel microhotel with 203 keys, the brand’s first micro in the western United States. Features such as self-check-in machines, loft-style sleeping arrangements, smart TVs, and public coworking and meeting rooms are popular with millennial travelers and professionals in the up-and-coming neighborhood. A rooftop bar and a restaurant and bar on the ground floor are open to the public.

Pesavento said the Synapse Development Group, the developer of this project, was “very hands-on and dedicated” during the design phase. The biggest challenge with this adaptive reuse was the mechanical system as the bathrooms in most office buildings are in the middle of the building. All lines had to be laid for the hotel. Pesavento added that the hotel was designed to avoid the existing interior structures (e.g. pillars) so the execution “required a lot of on-site coordination”.

The converted building, which actually lacked the floor and the crown, was “now timeless,” said Pesavento.

The conversion of a former office building into a hotel required extensive installation and electrical work.

The post An adaptive reuse of a historic constructing in San Francisco was definitely worth the wait appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

HVAC services are in high demand and the entire industry is suffering from supply bottlenecks. Summer weather has increased demand for HVAC equipment, especially in the record breaking heat in Utah.

An increase in demand for air conditioning is generally welcomed by most contractors, but supply bottlenecks have made it difficult to meet customer demands. Given the scarcity in the industry that is affecting material costs such as steel, aluminum, copper and plastic and is expected to increase, finding the best HVAC supplier in your area is important.

Many HVAC service providers help people save money by reminding homeowners the importance of maintenance, such as: Maintenance service is doable as it doesn’t require new equipment, spares, or additions that are hard to come by.

It is also important to decide whether to reinstall or replace it as soon as possible to avoid unavailable equipment in an emergency. If your air conditioning system fails completely during this heat wave, it would be a disaster. Be proactive – this deficiency could last a long time.

Whether you need a minor repair or a new system, leave it to the experts to get it right the first time. Some HVAC suppliers have physical inventory so they don’t have to order anything so they can get the project done quickly and at a fair price despite the impact of the bottlenecks.

Trust Black Diamond HVAC to take care of your home and make sure you are comfortable at all times.

Right now Black Diamond HVAC is offering a free oven with the purchase of a central AC unit and up to $ 1300 off manufacturer discounts, with an additional 10% savings from us on killer HVAC deals.

The post HVAC trade shortages! Why you shouldn’t wait to switch appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) – As COVID cases increase, more people are realizing they need to get tested. In fact, every Bay Area County health department is seeing significantly higher demand for testing, and officials don’t want community testing sites to be overwhelmed.

“We have already decided not to reduce some of the test sites that we were considering. As demand changes, we will consider opening additional test sites, ”said Dr. Chris Farnitano from Contra Costa Health Services.

CONTINUE READING: North Bay Counties are banding together to distribute water-saving tools and promote conservation

Sam Levin has been trying to get tested for days after being exposed to a close family member who tested positive.

“It’s hard to get tested now that it was at the real peak,” said Levin.

He finally got an appointment online but spent an hour one way just to get to this test site and isn’t sure how long it would have taken if he tried a walk-in.

“It’s not an easy process. For me, I’ve never tried to stop by so I don’t really know, ”said Levin.

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Gone are the mass test sites and many of the walk-ins. The majority of the remaining listed by the San Francisco Department of Health are by appointment only.

“We continue to test at full speed before we see an increase in test demand,” said Dr. Naveena Bobba of the San Francisco Department of Health.

“We are also seeing increasing demand for testing in Marin County,” said Dr. Lisa Santora of the Marin County Department of Health.

Almost every Bay Area County Health Department is currently looking into expanding their opening hours and possibly opening additional locations.

“The city of Berkeley is also seeing an increasing demand for tests and we are working with our test partners,” said Dr. Lisa Hernandez of Berkeley Public Health.

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Public health officials encourage people to check with their health care providers first, as they don’t want city or municipal websites to be cluttered with requests for testing.

The post Spike In Instances Triggers Extra Demand For Testing, Longer Wait Instances – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.