Somerville is the densest city in New England and it is built almost entirely out of triple-deckers, most of which are being converted to condos one at a time.
That produces a very specific steel market: basement girders, lally columns, first-floor beams for open plans, and new stair and deck framing, all on lots with three feet between buildings.
Permitting and access
Somerville Inspectional Services requires a permit and stamped structural drawings for load path changes. The practical constraint in Somerville is not the permit, it is the street: crane setups, material delivery and even a boom truck usually require a street occupancy permit and neighbor coordination, and many blocks simply cannot host a crane. We plan most Somerville residential work as hand-rigged or sectioned steel for that reason.
Typical local scopes
- Basement girder replacement with new columns and footings
- First-floor beams for open kitchen and living renovations
- Load-bearing wall removal in unit-by-unit condo conversions
- Deck, stair and porch structural steel
- Podium and stair steel on Union and Assembly Square projects