sAttach 3 - Building Evaluation Report.pdf

USDA Cornell University Geneva, NY Campus

Insectary/Screenhouse Building Evaluation 26 Innovation Blvd., Cornell Geneva, NY Campus

Prepared for:

Mr. Christopher Wilson, Engineering Project Manager

USDA Agricultural Research Services, Administrative and Financial Management

Northeast Area | Facilities, Safety & Real Property

10300 Baltimore Ave., Building 003 Room 320

Beltsville, MD, 20740

Prepared by:

860 Hooper Road, Endwell, NY 13760

Phone: 607-231-6600, Fax: 607-231-6650

Delta Project No. 2017.180.008

Field Work Performed By: Christopher Thomas & Stephen Prislupsky, May 21st, 2020

Report Prepared by: Christopher Thomas, June 2nd, 2020

USDA Geneva, NY PGRU Insectary/Screenhouse Building Evaluation

Table of Contents

Survey Report Page No.

Project Intent

Orientation Meeting

Field Survey/Findings - Existing System Information

Recommended Scope of Work

Appendix A, Building Drawing

Appendix B, Photos

1) Project Intent

The insectary building on Cornell University’s Geneva Campus is planned to be put back into service. Due to the age of the structure and the fact that it has been not been used recently, a general assessment of the structural and architectural condition of the facility has been requested. This assessment is based on visual observations only. Analytical computations of the existing structural members and global stability of the building is not part of the scope of this report.

2) Orientation Meeting

On May 21st, 2020 an Orientation Meeting was held at the site to discuss the scope of work for this project. The following persons were present: Stephen Prislupsky (Delta), Chris Thomas

(Delta) and Michael Merchant (USDA).

3) Field Survey/Findings - Existing System Information

The 1,935 sf facility was constructed in 1985 according to the information provided. It appears that the use has changed over the years. The structure currently has mesh screen exterior and interior walls, but it is evident that at one time the exterior was clad with fiberglass panels. Below is a summary of the existing system.

a) Environmental – Based on a visual inspection of the structure, no suspect asbestos materials or suspect PCB caulks were observed to be present.

b) Civil

i) Site Grading

• The building is sited on relatively flat land. Approximately 75% of the grades around the foundation slope away from the building.

• The grades have settled and are draining towards the building at the following location:

o The northwest corner of the building starting at the double entry doors on the west side of the building and progressing north under the storage rack.

c) Architectural

i) Exterior Envelope

• The roof is comprised of corrugated plastic panels. These appear to have replaced the original fiberglass roofing. The roof system appears to be in good condition.

• The walls are comprised of mesh screen which is in good condition. The upper gable end walls are corrugated plastic panels.

• Fascia boards are unprotected, exposed to the elements, and are rotted.

• Miscellaneous screen panels are in need of replacement or reattachment.

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ii) Interior

• The interior demising and corridor walls are constructed of 2x4 wood framing with screening. The walls bear on CMU foundations. All appear to be in good condition.

• There is no finished floor in the screenhouse (i.e. pea-stone and dirt). Additionally, no floor drains were observed.

d) Plumbing

i) Domestic Water

• A stand-up galvanized line having a shut-off valve/hose bib assembly is present within each grow room. There was no building shut-off valve observed to be present within or outside of the structure.

e) Mechanical

i) Exhaust Fan Units are present in each gable-end wall.

f) Electrical

i) Each Grow Room has three halogen lights which appear to be controlled by a set of timers mounted on the wall in each room.

ii) Five Incandescent fixtures are present in the center corridor.

iii) The Panel / Breaker Box for the structure is located on the exterior of the N/W storage shed attachment.

g) Structural

i) Existing Construction

• The building is constructed of 2x4 wood studs at 24” o.c. The studs are braced at mid height. The roof is constructed of pre-engineered wood trusses spaced at 24” o.c. with 2x4 wood purlins at 4’-0” o.c. on top of the trusses to support the plastic roofing material. The corridor walls and interior demising walls do not appear to be load bearing although they are fully founded on CMU foundation walls.

o The pre-engineered trusses do not have chord members that align with the corridor walls as one would typically expect to find if the trusses were designed to bear at these locations.

• No lateral resisting system or elements were identified.

• The roof, wall, and foundation lines appear to be straight and level with no obvious signs of failure.

ii) Existing Conditions

• Generally, the structure is in good condition. Exposure to heat and humidity from the greenhouse, and most recently exposure to the elements have affected the framing members slightly. Exterior decomposition has only affected the outermost portions (1/8” to ¼” of the exposed member) and does not appear to have a significant impact on their load carrying capacity.

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• The southern face of the building experienced the only observed locations of rot which occurred at the 2x6 sill plate In addition to the sill rot, a few horizontal stud braces are showing signs of rot. Even in their diminished capacity, they are still capable of resisting the loads imposed.

iii) System deficiencies

• The existing building does not have any lateral load resisting system. The building was originally clad with fiberglass sheathing which would have resisted a portion of the lateral load.

4) Recommended Scope of Work

The reported plan for the building includes removing the corridor and interior demising walls, adding longitudinal walls to partition the screenhouse into three equal sections. The gable ends will be modified to add a set of double entry doors for each of the three sections.

According to our visual observation, it does not appear that the interior corridor walls were designed to be bearing walls. The span for the wood trusses and the lack of truss chord members located in the vicinity of the bearing walls all indicate that it is reasonable to assume that the interior corridor walls can be removed without affecting the roof trusses. To know definitively if the trusses were designed to span the entire width of the building either original construction documents would need to be provided or further investigation and evaluation performed.

With the proposed removal of the interior walls, additional bottom chord bracing will need to be installed to the wood trusses to brace against lateral torsional buckling. With the removal of the interior demising walls, diagonal bottom chord bracing will need to be installed to transfer lateral load to the gable end walls. Shear panels or bracing should be provided at the gable end walls to transfer lateral loads to the foundation.

Appendix A – Building Drawings

52'-6"

32 +/-'

15'-6"

15'-6"

5'

5'-6"

8'

Storage Shed Attachment

9'

5'

Breaker Box

Cornell Geneva, NY Campus USDA PGRU Insectory / Screenhouse

East (Front) Elevation

NTS

Appendix B – Photos

Domestic Water supply present in each Grow Room

Halogen Lighting – 3 Fixtures per Grow Room

Wall-mounted Timers for Grow Room Lighting

Center Corridor Incandescent Light Fixtures

Gable-end Wall Exhaust Fan Unit

Rear (N/W) Storage Shed Attachment

Panel / Breaker Box located on exterior of Storage Shed Attachment

Panel / Breaker Box

West (Rear) Elevation

South Elevation

East (Front) Elevation

Pea-stone Floor in center corridor

2x4 Roof Truss System

2x4 / Screen Wall System, Typical for exterior and interior walls