When a chain of thunderstorms dumped torrential rain on New Orleans for 12-13 hours, the roof drainage system of the posh Hotel Inter-Continental failed, allowing an unobstructed flow of rainwater into the hotel’s fourth floor administrative offices. Gravity directed the six-inch deep pool of water to the floors below, soaking carpets, padding, ceiling panels, baseboards and sheetrock all the way to the lobby. With the hotel at 65 percent capacity and booked solid with conventions, traditional reconstruction would simply not suffice in repairing the damage. Hotel management chose Evans Team USA because of our focus on the mitigation of excessive downtime after a catastrophe. They were impressed by our “track record, technical expertise, and attention to detail.”

It was determined that closing the hotel during renovation was not an option and that no guests could be inconvenienced. Evans Team USA coordinated what became known as a “stealth” reconstruction of the damaged hotel, working as quickly as possible in the dead of night. We began by producing a detailed assessment of the damage, a difficult undertaking in this waterlogged environment. An initial construction schedule was hammered out, and the repair began. Evans Team USA renovated the flood-damaged hotel without disturbing guests, canceling functions, interrupting administrative duties – or barring the doors.