Godfrey Tampa

BillerReinhart was brought in to evaluate deteriorating balconies and railings at the Godfrey Hotel, a six-story waterfront property on Tampa Bay. The concrete balconies showed clear signs of deterioration, including cracking, spalling, and delamination. Through site observations, concrete sounding,  and engineering analysis, our team dug into what was actually causing the damage and how serious it was.

The problems traced back to the balcony corners. A combination of embedded guardrail posts, insufficient reinforcement, and the railing system expanding and contracting with temperature changes had cracked the concrete and loosened sections. BillerReinhart provided ownership with immediate steps to make the balconies safe, then laid out a full restoration plan: rebuilding the concrete, adding new reinforcing steel, using specialized repair materials, and improving the anchoring of the guardrail posts. We also flagged maintenance issues with the existing cable rail system and ways to improve its performance down the road.

The project went beyond the structural work. We also researched current building code requirements for replacing the balcony sliding glass doors, including wind load and impact resistance standards, so ownership would have a clear path forward for that work as well. In the end, the team came away with a practical plan to restore these balconies, keep guests safe, and get many more years out of the building.