DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUILDING ANTEFIXAE REPAIRS

Project Owner: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

  • Seal Engineering, Inc. worked as part of a design-build team to develop a design for reinforcing the existing large, historic terracotta Antefixae snow guards around the eaves of the clay tile roofs
  • The primary driver for the project was life safety concerns associated with the Antefixae falling to the terraces and sidewalks below due to heavy/ deep snow accumulation
  • In order to strengthen the Antefixae tails and address failures related to heavy/ deep snow accumulation, destructive testing and materials engineering were utilized to develop an adhered carbon fiber design
  • A series of prototype repairs were made to the Antefixae and each was tested to simulate the calculated snow loads
  • The final design was verified through the testing process consisting of an adhered carbon fiber reinforcement that was applied to each Antefixae
  • Seal Engineering, Inc. provided the design, drawings, and details for the execution of the Antefixae repairs and provided periodic site inspections during construction
  • Seal Engineering, Inc. also visited the factory repair facility to verify the reinforcement application