Transforming a landmark coastal resort

The Royal Floridian is a seven story vacation resort that is a major economic driver in the small coastal town of Ormond Beach, Fla. Originally built in 1973, the building had received several alterations over the years but the progressive deterioration caused by the harsh salt water environment had never been addressed.

The restoration team, led by ConTech Construction, was hired 1½ years before construction started, which allowed for extensive planning. The engineer performed both non-destructive and limited destructive testing to determine the extent and cause of structural deficiencies. These explorations uncovered severe corrosion of the structural steel support columns and beams under the north and south cantilevered ends of the building. Other findings were chloride content in the concrete balconies of over 5 lbs per cubic yard, hundreds of top and bottom spalls, and large areas of cracked and disbonded stucco. Water intrusion was causing deterioration inside the living areas.

The extent of concrete deterioration was so severe that the balconies and walkways were completely removed and replaced with new concrete containing a corrosion inhibitor admixture. Other concrete areas were selectively repaired with pre-packaged structural repair mortars.

The team also executed an architectural aesthetic make over that transformed the worn out, drab facility into a gorgeous, modern destination resort. The entire east face of the building was reconstructed, including new balconies, new insulated windows and doors and 15 BASF products, including Sonoguard waterproofing membranes and Thorocoat, Thorolastic and Thorosheen acrylic exterior coatings.

New pavers were installed over the waterproofing membrane on the pool deck over the parking garage, and new concrete swimming pools completed the transformation of this landmark resort.

To learn more about the Royal Floridian project, click here to watch the video. BD+C

Earlier this month, my colleague and I presented a session to a group of civil engineers and transportation agencies about the tech trends in the AEC space. Along with advice on how to prepare your plan for controlled collaboration, we also talked through some practical use cases. One such use case was especially interesting, as it outlined a challenge not unfamiliar to government agencies who are contemplating the leap from paper to digital processes: how to securely migrate workflows.

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