"Summit Engineering has consistently
provided us with practical designs with quick
turn-around times."

Lenny Severini, Charles Leonard Steel Services, LLC

Commercial Building:

Ri Ra Irish Pub Portsmouth, NH

Overview

Restoring this historic building and converting it into the home of a new restaurant required creative thinking and some innovative design engineering. Formerly the home of First National Bank of New Hampshire, this building was constructed in 1803 after one of the great fires of Portsmouth. The building, which was considered the oldest bank building in the US, consists of two structures and houses three vaults on the main levels. In 2009, the structures were united and converted into a new Portsmouth location for Ri Ra Irish Pub, a popular Irish-themed restaurant chain.

Renovation of the building for the Ri Ra required removal on one vault to make room for the new kitchen. With the vault constructed within boxes comprised of brick (outermost box), rail steel, 18-inch thick granite slabs, and three inches of riveted steel (innermost box), this was no small feat. Working with the architect, contractor, and building owner, Summit Engineering provided the design engineering of the new floor system, new mezzanine framing, and framed openings in the two foot thick masonry walls between the two structures.

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