Client St. Mark's Church Building In the summer of 2005, St. Mark's Catholic Church in Shakopee was nearing completion of an ambitious interior restoration project when a fire erupted and the 1865 structure was quickly engulfed in flames. For the parishioners of St. Mark's, it was a heartbreaking disaster. The building appeared, even to the most optimistic observer, to be a total loss. Scope of Service The church and its insurance company commissioned Encompass Inc., forensic structural engineers, to do a complete analysis and determine whether this historic structure could be saved. The walls appeared to be intact, and the roof was still in place, though it sustained serious damage from the firefighting effort and it was by no means clear that it could be saved. Description The floor of the church was comprised of several layers of wood, which burned away to expose a large network of trenches that had been dug to house the mechanical and electrical systems. The problem at that point was that, with the floor now gone, there was no way to get at the ceiling without a stable base on which to erect scaffolding. We decided to take a step that is highly unusual in the field of forensic engineering: begin reconstruction of the building in order to be able to continue investigation. The construction of a new floor would allow inspection of the ceiling. We filled the trench system with Flow-crete to create a new, stable surface. With the new floor in place, we could now begin our ascent to the ceiling and find out what the future held in store for St. Mark's. Our subsequent analysis determined that the framework of the ceiling and roof structures remained viable, and we were able to deliver good news. Because the ceiling structure of the church was preserved, all of the architectural and ornamental features of the building's interior could be recreated. The newly restored St. Mark's is essentially a duplication of the original structure. |
