July 25, 2006
Tim McCandless, SE
Boy Scouts of America
Northwest Council No. 611
411 West Boy Scouts Way
Spokane, WA 99201-2243
Dear Tim:
My company, RenCorp, LLC, was
recently contacted by several
people interested in renovating
Finch Lodge. On July 18th,
I met at the lodge with three
proponents of the renovation. We
toured the exterior and interior
of the lodge that day entering
each of the room’s and observing
the current condition of the
building. The purpose of this
letter is to give you my opinion
of the lodge’s possible
renovation. You have a beautiful
facility at Diamond Lake and I enjoyed my visit that day.
Background:
RenCorp was founded five years
ago. Prior to forming this
company, my business partner,
Chris Batten, and I worked for
five years at Wells and Company,
another Spokane company specializing in historic
renovations. I was the
construction manager and Chris
was the leasing agent. RenCorp
specializes in renovations and
adaptive reuses of historic
buildings. We have renovated
buildings listed on the Spokane, State, and National Historic
Registers. Our company provides
many services such as
architectural design, general
contracting, real estate
brokerage, and real estate
development. We have developed
several buildings in Spokane and the vicinity which were in worse
condition than Finch Lodge. The
reason we renovate the buildings
is because it made more sense
economically to renovate the
buildings than to tear them down
and build new. When we evaluate
a building as a developer, we
look at the bottom line to
ensure that it makes sense to
renovate the building. There are
always many factors to consider
in any renovation. We understand
that while emotions may run high
that you must consider all
options. One factor that should
be taken into consideration is
the heritage and fond memories
that the lodge evokes for many
past and future users.
Some of the renovation projects
we have been involved with while
working at Wells and Company
include:
-
Steam Plant Square, built
1916, an adaptive reuse of
an historic steam plant and
distribution warehouse into
offices, a restaurant, and
brewery
-
Courtyard Office Center,
built in the 1960’s, an
adaptive reuse of the
Rodeway Motor Inn into
office suites
-
Morgan Building,
built in the early 1900’s, a
six story historic apartment
building converted to an
office and residential condo
project
Since forming RenCorp, we have
developed or have been the
architect and general contractor
on the following projects:
-
Gables Apartments, built in
1909, 21 unit apartment
building condemned by the
City, renovated as
apartments
-
Wetzel Warehouse, built
1909, a grocery warehouse
converted into offices and a
retail store
-
Cannon Residence, built
1911, leveling the house and
pouring a new concrete
foundation to replace the
original rock foundation
-
Moorehouse Residence, built
in the early 1900’s,
addition to a historic home
where importance was placed
on keeping in character with
original building style
-
Jefferson Street Auto Lofts,
built 1906, an adaptive
reuse of a warehouse into
customized residential lofts
and commercial offices
-
Railside Center,
built 1908, historic five
story warehouse being
converted into fourteen
residential condos, starting
construction in August 2006
-
Edge Condominiums, built
1907, historic warehouse
being converted into
nineteen residential condos,
starting construction in
September 2006
Observations:
I have read through the reports
written to you from J. L
Stewart, Richard Atwood, and
Peter Smith regarding their
recommendations on the condition
of the lodge. I also visited the
site to make my own
observations, though no
structural testing was done. I
did not see anything on site
that was a major concern. Most
of what was noted is typical for
a building of its age. Typically
there is structural reinforcing
or repairs needed in any
renovation. Historic buildings
do not need to be brought up to
current building codes. There
are variances in the building
codes to allow for renovations
without destroying the historic
integrity and detailing of a
building. The code does not
allow alterations to a building
that would make it less safe
than it currently is, but it
does not require bringing the
building up to current codes.
There are life safety codes that
must be adhered to which will
require upgrades to the building
involving fire codes and exiting
requirements. Obviously with the
amount and type of use your
building will see, you will want
to upgrade the lodge to a level
of safety and structural
soundness that meets your needs
and will likely exceed the
minimum code upgrades.
In reading through Richard
Atwood’s report, dated June 23,
2006, I did not see anything
that can’t be overcome in a
fairly straight forward
approach. Typically in a
renovation project there are
several structural upgrades
required which his report lists:
-
Rebuild or repoint masonry
fireplaces. Repointing may
be all that is necessary and
less costly.
-
Repair and repoint rock
foundation.
-
Reinforce the framing
members between trusses.
Steel channels can be bolted
through the wood members to
reinforce them.
-
Strip roofing and sheet with
plywood over existing
rafters.
-
Reinforce or replace beams
if necessary where the wall
was removed when the porch
was enclosed and opened up
to the interior.
-
Level the floors by jacking
up posts as required. Pour
new post footing if
necessary.
-
Reinforce the exterior walls
with new plywood sheathing
or steel diagonal bracing
straps added to the studs.
There are usually other
options to add additional
shear strength such as
adding braces on the
interior between structural
framing members.
The new addition could also
be designed to have the tie
into the historic lodge and
help provide the lateral
resistance required.
-
Reinforce balcony floors
where they have deflected.
I would also recommend the
following if you decide to
renovate the Finch Lodge:
-
Replacing the windows with a
double paned glass window
that matches the look of the
historic windows and
provides better energy
efficiency.
-
The exterior siding may be
salvageable, but if not it
would need to be removed and
replaced with new lap
siding. There are products
available now that are low
maintenance and provide long
durability, such as cement
based lap siding that can
match that look of wood and
is painted.
-
Reroof with new
architectural asphalt
shingles to restore the
historic design of roof
which was likely wood
shingles.
-
Remove the main ceiling and
restore the look of the
exposed trusses and vaulted
ceiling.
-
Install gas fireplace
inserts and chimney liners
for energy efficiency and
low maintenance.
-
Add insulation to walls and
roof. This can be blown into
the walls or siding can be
removed from one side to
install batting. The roof
may need rigid insulation to
get a higher R-value due to
the 2x6 rafter depth. There
may also be a way to install
the roof insulation on the
exterior of the new plywood
sheathing or adding to the
rafted to build up
additional depth.
-
Install new HVAC equipment.
Ducting can be run exposed
or hidden behind knee wall
on second level, crawl
space, and between floor
joists.
-
Install new electrical
service throughout the
building.
-
Plumbing will likely be
minimal since a new addition
would likely occur that can
house the kitchen and toilet
rooms.
-
The building may need fire
sprinklers if required by
code for its use. The piping
can be left exposed without
being unsightly.
-
A new stair will need to be
added to the second level
for fire egress.
-
Balcony railing will need to
be altered to add height.
Typically the existing
railing is left intact and a
horizontal rail is added on
top to bring the height up.
The added rail should look
different than the original
railing so it is obvious to
the user of what is
historic.
-
The rear of the building may
need to have the grade
lowered to help with
drainage. The
ADA entrance can
also be at the rear of the
building since the floor is
close to grade level.
-
Build an addition to the
Finch Lodge to meet the
functional needs of the Boy
Scouts program.
Recommendations:
Carefully consider the needs of
the Boy Scouts for the next 50
years. Many times a building can
be renovated to meet those
needs. If more space is
required, then an addition will
need to be built. An addition
can be built adjoining the
existing lodge that is designed
tastefully to tie the past to
the present. You have a
wonderful lodge that can become
a showcase and a functioning
museum for the Scouts to use for
years to come. This is the type
of building that people remember
when visiting. Many new
buildings lack character and
charm. New buildings may not
always outlast a fully renovated
historic building. A new
building can be built to last a
hundred years, but this
requirement can also get quite
costly.
I have been renovating buildings
for ten years and have yet to
have a renovation cost more than
demolition and new construction.
If the design team has
experience in renovations and
knows the building code
requirements for historic
buildings, then there is no
reason the renovation should
cost more than new construction.
I don’t know where the numbers
are coming from in some of the
reports that say a renovation
can cost twice as much as new
construction. I would first
question if the new construction
was with materials that can last
50 to 100 years or is it based
on inexpensive construction that
will require costly continued
maintenance. You are starting
out with the structure and the
upgrades will likely cost less
than building new. Most of the
new systems, (such as
electrical, plumbing, fire
sprinklers, HVAC) will cost the
same whether it is new
construction or a renovation.
There are the costs of
demolition that must be factored
in and the costs to haul debris
to the closest land fill. There
is also the environmental factor
to consider in the cost of
demolition. A recycled building
has additional value by saving
materials being newly
manufactured and by keeping
materials out of the landfill.
LEED certification (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental
Design) is a Green Building
Rating System encouraged now by
national building councils to
rethink how we construct
buildings. I would think this
could be a valuable lesson to
young Scouts that could be taken
advantage of for their
education. It would also be
great public relations with the
general public and the
supporters of the scouts.
Please let me now if we can be
of further assistance. I can be
contacted at
455-3770, extension 111.
Sincerely,
Len Urgeleit
RenCorp, LLC