McLean, VA

The Madeira School

Scope/Solutions

The Madeira School, founded in 1906, is an independent school for girls that serves Grades 9 through 12.  SGH provided collaborative building enclosure and structural consulting services on two projects at the Madeira School.  The projects included a condition assessment and leakage investigation of the main terrace at the administration building and an investigation of masonry distress and concrete deterioration at the horse stable.

Highlights of our work include the following:

Main Terrace.  With its cascading view of the Potomac River and surrounding national parks, the terrace is a central point for academic ceremonies and school events.  SGH performed water testing to identify leakage paths, observed the condition of the existing waterproofing and concrete terrace slab at exploratory openings, conducted microscopic examination of extracted concrete core samples to evaluate durability characteristics, and performed non-destructive, half-cell potential testing to determine the likelihood of corrosion of embedded reinforcement in the existing concrete slab.

We developed several repair concepts for the main terrace and worked with a local contractor to prepare cost estimates for each concept.  As part of the concept development, SGH retained an architectural consultant and evaluated concepts for modifying the interior space below the terrace to make it more usable for the school.  We also retained an arborist to evaluate the impact of the repair concepts on the mature trees surrounding the terrace.

Horse Stable.  SGH invested reported masonry distress and concrete deterioration at the horse stable.  We performed non-destructive and destructive testing to gather information about the existing structure.  We analyzed the existing structural slab and supporting structure and developed conceptual options for the repair.

Project Summary

completion-date

2009

Completion Date
Solutions
Repair & Rehabilitation | Preservation
Services
Building Enclosures | Structures
Markets
Education
Client(s)
The Madeira School
Specialized Capabilities
Repair & Strengthening | Preservation | Roofing & Waterproofing

Key team members

Scott Silvester
Scott Silvester
Principal
Niklas Vigener
Niklas Vigener
Chief Technical Officer