Vertical Addition

A structural engineer designing a vertical addition must consider the relationship between the existing and new structure in a few different ways. The existing building must be able to support the additional floors, which can be verified by material testing. Custom reinforcing options are available if any element of the existing structure is found to have low capacity: we have ‘jacketed’ steel columns in concrete, applied carbon fiber strips to floor slabs, extended existing footings, and more.

Extra reinforcing of the existing structure may be necessary to meet modern building code requirements. Structural engineers must anticipate the effect of seismic and wind forces on their projects, but this has not always been the case — many older buildings were not designed with this in mind. Vertical addition projects allow us to ensure that older buildings gain new life and remain safe for future generations.

Each vertical addition project is unique. However, common questions arise on nearly all of them, such as: which stairways and elevators are to be extended to the new roof; whether the building’s mechanical services are to be relocated closer to the new roof or remain where they are; which framing material will be lightweight yet strong enough to frame the new floors; among others. We coordinate with the architect and closely check all testing reports to determine the design solutions that work best for each project.

Smaller scale vertical addition projects usually add 1-2 floors to an existing building and require little modification to the existing structure. Common examples among our projects include retirement homes and boutique condo developments. In some cases, the building can remain occupied on the lower levels while the addition is constructed above.

Adaptive re-use projects involve intense modification to the existing structure, a higher number of additional floors, and usually a change of occupancy such as a residential conversion. Former industrial buildings such as factories are especially well-suited for this purpose as their foundations were designed to withstand heavy equipment and supplies. At Jablonsky, some of our favourite projects involved adaptive re-use, such as The Britt and Riverside Square.