Concrete Sawing Sheds Light
Into Downtown Building

The economic surge to revitalize residential living in downtown Columbus has begun. Numerous buildings throughout the city are being renovated to create new and unique living spaces. The history and architecture of these buildings create a desire to rejuvenate rather than tear down. A downfall to these establishments would be the lack of natural lighting, due to side-by-side building development as well as state code regulations.

The Lofts at 106, on North High Street, is a prime example of this dilemma. The 93-year-old building, which once served as a department store for both Z.L. White and the J.C.Penney Co. and then transformed into office space in the early 1970s, is now being developed into residential condos. Approximately 97,000 square feet of space is being transformed into forty-eight (48) condos, of which only sixteen receive natural lighting through windows facing High Street. Due to existing state code regulations, additional windows could not be cut into the exterior walls. The solution to this problem was to create a lightwell that would funnel natural light throughout the building.

To create this lightwell, S.G. Loewendick and Sons subcontracted Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling, under general contracting by Ruscilli Residential LTD, to wall saw and flat saw approximately 40 openings in the existing 24" concrete structural slab floors. Each opening was 17' in length and averaged 9' to 19' in width. Without the use of shoring, each opening was core drilled and rigged to a crane. The openings were then cut into 2 to 3 pieces for ease of removal. Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling and S.G. Loewendick and Sons worked hand in hand sawing and removing each piece. This was no easy task, as each piece had to be maneuvered up through previously cut openings. Once the slabs were craned out through the roof opening, they were loaded on flat bed trucks and hauled off site.

Removal of approximately 10% of the building floor area created a 150,000 cubic foot lightwell standing approximately 100' tall. Glass roof panels allow sunlight to illuminate the inside of the remaining 32 condos not originally exposed to light. Since the lightwell addition, the Lofts at 106 are considered to be one of the most unique living spaces in Columbus.

In addition to sawing the lightwell, Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling was contracted by both S.G. Loewendick and Sons and Ruscilli Residential LTD for many other projects while on site. These included core drilling over 1,000 holes for new plumbing, sawing approximately 25 duct and louver openings for HVAC, elevator shaft openings, as well as wall and slab on grade penetrations to construct a ramp for underground parking.

Fred Loewendick, of S.G. Loewendick and Sons, said the reason he contracted Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling for this project is because he has used Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling many times before on challenging projects and the service and quality provided is unsurpassed. Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling always has the equipment necessary to perform any task and, when a special situation arises and the equipment to perform the work wasn't available in the marketplace, they will modify existing equipment or design their own to get the job done.

Rick Wright, project superintendent for Ruscilli Residential LTD stated that Ohio Concrete Sawing and Drilling was able to staff the entire project with experienced and professional saw operators, doing whatever it took to meet and exceed our expectations.

• University of Michigan
• I-280 Bridge
• Columbus Condos