| Rolyn Disaster Recovery/Restoration |

Case Study: High-Rise Office Building

Location: Miami, FL

Loss: Hurricane Damage

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in October 2005, Rolyn arrived in downtown Miami and began to secure and board up a 27-story office building that had lost one thousand panes of vision and spandrel glass. The primary driving force on this project was securing safe occupancy for the tenants of the building, none of whom could afford to be shut down for any period of time. The situation was exacerbated by the city-wide loss of power. Within seven days, Rolyn’s crew of 150 was able to board up, clean, and secure enough of the structure that the city of Miami granted occupancy to the building.

The accordion-like high-rise had to be boarded up from the outside because structural steel and a concrete deck made the spandrel openings inaccessible from the inside. This required an extremely large number of swing stages. Specialized equipment even had to be brought in from Cincinnati so that all of the broken window openings could be boarded up and waterproofed.

Interior cleaning required debris removal of drywall, ceiling tile and grid, broken glass, and other building materials. Detailed cleaning was done throughout the building using HEPA vacuums and specially manufactured tack cloths. In heavily damaged sections, Rolyn packed out and moved furniture and contents into other areas that sustained less damage. Exterior cleaning was also an issue due to the heavy volume of shattered glass that covered the entire premises. Landscaping had to be cleaned or removed and replaced. Throughout the project the site was secured using an eight-foot perimeter fence, walk-through scaffolding to protect pedestrians, and 24-hour fire watch.

By reacting rapidly to this disaster, Rolyn reduced the cost of the loss for all parties involved in a safe and efficient manner. Building tenants quickly resumed operations, the property management company welcomed visitors and future tenants in a timely manner, and the insurance company saved countless dollars since the building was boarded up and waterproofed, preventing secondary loss due to rain or future storms.