7000 Building Skylight Project

When the original gable roof skylights of the 7000 Building began to leak, General Motors set out to remedy the problem. They found pockets of water were collecting in the gutters, causing the roof to leak. GM’s design team and the engineering firm, NTH, determined the best solution was to replace the existing skylights and change the design. The team chose a hip roof skylight design to replace the existing one which would eliminate the problem of water collecting in between the gutters.

Ideal Contracting provided general contracting services along with demolition, steel installation, and interior finishes to General Motors. This project was a collaboration between the competitive bid team and the Project Delivery Program Management (PDPM) team. Both teams worked on the removal and installation of the skylights, while our competitive bid team installed the scaffolding, strengthened the existing steel, and installed new steel for the updated skylight design. Ideal’s project team faced multiple challenges during construction. The largest challenge was removing the existing skylight and installing the new skylight while maintaining a weather tight envelope to ensure water did not infiltrate the building.

The GM design team and NTH worked for many months to develop a well thought out plan for temporary protection as well as installation of the new skylight. The temporary protection plan was vital due to the unique trees and plants housed beneath the skylight. To keep the plants alive during construction, a Botanist was brought in to recreate the light and temperature that the skylights provided above. The PDPM project team provided artificial light sources for the vegetation to continue to thrive during construction.

The team also had to work with minimal noise or interruptions to the tenants as the building was occupied 24/7. Ideal’s experience working on multiple projects throughout GM’s occupied facilities helped steer a logistics plan developed by our PDPM team. Ideal’s Site Superintendent, Jeff Martin, and Site Foreman, Ken Lecluyse, brought their expertise to the team, using the project goals and design documents to develop a plan to best execute the design with minimal disruptions to the owner’s occupants. Scheduled to be completed in seven months, the project team turned over the area with great satisfaction to the end user a month ahead of schedule with no reported safety incidents.