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TRAKLOC® Helps Revive Historic Jung Hotel

Submitted by Jenny Hull on

TRAKLOC® Adjustable Steel Framing System Helps Revive Historic Jung Hotel

The Jung Hotel opened in 1907 as one of the grandest hotels in the South. It operated as such for 75 years before serving guests under other hotel names. Then, when the levees broke during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the structure suffered devastating water damage. For years the hotel sat languishing. Fortunately, the tide has turned once again for the historic structure. A multi-million dollar restoration is underway in an effort to return the Jung Hotel to its former glory.

Once complete, the 550,000-square-foot hotel will feature three towers including one that is 10 floors high and two rising to 18 floors. There will be luxury apartments, hotel suites, and space for retailers, meeting rooms, events and a large parking garage. ClarkDietrich is pleased that much of the building’s new interior walls are comprised of the adjustable TRAKLOC® Steel Framing System.

Different than traditional steel studs that must be cut to length for varying jobsite conditions, TRAKLOC can be ordered in one length and then easily adjusted to accommodate variances in the slab and minor differences in wall height. It enabled
the crew to quickly frame the walls and make any adjustments without much ado. They just snap the studs into place, then move them as needed. That would not have been possible with conventional studs.

Traditional steel studs, of course, must be measured and cut to length on site. It’s a time-consuming and laborious process, particularly in old building renovations like the Jung Hotel where floors were often quite uneven. TRAKLOC, on the other hand, requires no cutting. This translates into significant labor savings. It also makes for a safer jobsite. With TRAKLOC, crews spend less time climbing scaffolds, ladders and lifts, bending over to install screws, and contending with noisy chop saws. This results in fewer job-related injuries and reduced workers’ compensation costs. 

Ultimately, the Jung Hotel crew used 10 trucks – equaling about 450,000 pounds – of the TRAKLOC Elevator Stud™ and corresponding TRAKLOC track and MaxTrak® Slotted Deflection Track products. The superintendent ordered this particular stud to the maximum required deck height understanding that the elevator stud would arrive to the jobsite compressed into almost half its length. For instance, a 14-foot stud would arrive on site collapsed to about 8 feet. The stud would then be extended or telescoped to the required length at the point of installation.

Further, being that TRAKLOC is completely adjustable, the system created little on-site waste for the crew who would typically cut studs to length on the jobsite – a notable point for the industry’s trend toward zero waste projects. Whereas in many cases a contractor would have to order custom-sized studs to meet zero waste efforts – a process that shifts the waste upstream to the manufacturing facility—TRAKLOC is manufactured to the same length, no matter the height requirements of a particular project. This results in little to no waste in the manufacturing facility or the jobsite; therefore, projects are cleaner and easier. 

Without doubt, TRAKLOC is another option in a superintendent’s tool belt and is a great solution for renovation projects like the Jung Hotel where deck heights vary. Learn more about how TRAKLOC is changing the way buildings are framed at www.clarkdietrich.com. Next time you are down in New Orleans, check out the beautifully revived Jung Hotel.