Ninajlouis, Washington D.C., DC (2026)

05/13/2022

What a great week as got some great news about one of my projects! The Netherlands Carillon restoration is now complete 🎉. Honestly, you know when you are in your 30s when you start see the completion of your projects you started a few years ago 😂.

The Netherlands Carillon was my first historic bell tower and the panels were corroded along with the underlying structure to the point of material loss (thanks to standing water). Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the opening ceremony but it is so great to see all of our hard work materialize so beautifully (as well as all the times I went up and down the tower stairs for structural assessments 🥵).

📸 courtesy of 1200AE

11/09/2020

I am going to tell you a little story this morning such that you can conquer this week like no other. This was the first place I was told I wasn't good enough. I remember getting my declined admissions letter from the honors college saying my SAT and ACT scores were not high enough, especially the math portion. I needed to achieve a certain criteria for this given that I chose Civil Engineering as my degree. Though I always believe these college entrance exams were a load of 💩, I couldn't help but feel defeated.

After I brushed it off, I was bold and requested that I be interviewed such that I can show them that I had more to prove than these silly exams. Next thing I knew, I was on the road in my best dressed and walked in the admissions office and showed them who Nina Jean-Louis was. They doubted my ability to successfully finish the degree but semester after semester, I made Dean's list and graduated with honors 💥. On my exit interview, I remember the dean and admissions staff apologizing for ever doubting my abilities. I showed them that a stupid test doesn't define me and shouldn't define anyone else. I showed them that person's tenacity and determination is what defines their path.

When I am having a tough day at work, with a client or a deadline, I go back to this story and remind myself who the heck Nina Jean-Louis is and will always be.

What is something you can reflect on to remind yourself of the amazing person you are?

11/04/2020

Also proud to announce that I am officially a fur momma to this sweet little girl. Meet my fur daughter, Shelby 🐶...you may now resume your election watching madness 😂.

11/04/2020

A little surprise I have been keeping under wraps for a bit now...

Every two to three years I have lived in a different city, meeting new people, finding more about myself and exploring new opportunities. I have been away from home since I was 17 and have constantly sought what home looked like for me. I am excited to announce that I am now on the last stop for a while on this journey, closing a beautiful, impactful and life changing chapter in DC.

DC is a place that will always have a special place in my ❤️. For the last 3.5 years, I have found an amazing church community with , a stronger faith, friends that will forever be a part of my life family, and simply, a better version of me.

I pursued my dreams in historic preservation in this city and achieved goals that would not have been possible without and .b.slevin helping me to uproot false narratives that controlled me. I need to give a special thanks to one of my closest and dearest best friends who helped me get out of my own way.

Onto this next, exciting chapter in South Florida where I not only begin my journey as an international entrepreneur in the preservation space (more on that exciting development later) but also where will soar to new heights. After 13 years, I am excited to be finally be settling down these roots 🌱🌴🏠.

10/30/2020

Interesting find today in my analysis work. I came upon one of my roof members with the designation of 8SS15.6. Typically wide fl**ge beams are notated as W8x15.6 where the first number is the section's depth and the second is it's weight per linear foot. I was scratching my head for a while and was like what the heck does "SS" mean?

Nope, it wasn't stainless steel...and stainless is not common to be used for roof framing (you know because of that cash money 💰💰💰). My team and I were like maybe it is structural steel. Strike two. Then we were like wait, this building was constructed in 1960, let's peruse the rest of the historic set and boom, we landed on Stran Steel.

Stran Steel was one of the oldest manufacturers in the automotive industry and after 1934 made the switch to prefabricated building assemblies for both the commerical and residential industries. This catalog is from 1936 and it is goldmine of what advertisement looked like back then!

10/29/2020

Some days I am in the field...some days I am in pure analysis mode. It has been a numbers crunching week. These types of weeks are usually my hardest because, let's be honest, my brain 🧠 is exhausted after multiple analysis iterations and structural models failing; however, I am close to the end of a design and as always, when a design is finished, it is so sweet 🥳.

This week I am working on reinforcing existing wide fl**ge drop beams at Douglass High School that will be seeing a significant amount of additional load from several big roof top air conditioning units. Let's just say these wide fl**ges aren't happy and therefore, need a little help to transfer the load.

What work struggles are you having this week?

10/26/2020

Live music is in fact a form of a heritage whether you know it or not. It is more intangible meaning it is not as physical as a building but it is something that brings people together. This is probably one of the things I miss the most during this pandemic...not only spending my evenings seeing live jazz sets or local talents but capturing moments like these.

10/23/2020

In today's behind the scenes, I present you more interior views of the historic Cosmos Club... you're welcome 😁. I have an affinity for historic stairs...that red velvet and intricate metalwork 😍!

10/19/2020

This, my friends, is The Norman Fitzhugh Warhouse located at 125 S. Union Street. In the spirit of Halloween, I had to share this amazing historic warehouse building. Why? Well, apparently, this is the most haunted building in all of Old Town Alexandria 👻. This building has been a hotbed of paranormal activity with people seeing orbs from the windows as well as an outline of a gentlemen staring out of the window.

Originally at this site was the Harper Warehouse but in 1827, it was burned down but one of the worst fires in the area. Several businesses have occupied this space but none seem to ever stick 🤔. The building was last sold in 1976 and has been on the market ever since. I wonder why 😱👻😱👻.

10/16/2020

Its about to get spooky up in here 👻. One of things I love about working in Old Town Alexandria is my walking breaks and because it is fall over here, the weather is divine for eating outside.

Now, here is the truth. I am absolutely terrified of cemeteries. Yes...I would be the one that would skip out on the day my material's conservation class was cleaning gravestones and Green-Wood in Brooklyn; however, in recent years I have been beginning to understand more and more the importance of this landscape in historic preservation and have slowly become less and less terrified 😜.

This shot here is of the historic cemetery at Christ Church. Construction began in 1765 and was finally completed in 1773. Many of the graves situated here are from as early as 1786 with several consisting of Confederate prisoners of war. Previously there was a plaque commemorating Washington and Lee; however, these plaques were recently removed as the church stated the plaque became a distraction to their worship space and an obstacle in their identity as a welcoming church to be in full community with their neighbors.

10/14/2020

This is the lovely exterior of The Cosmos Club 😍. Last week, I gave you all a sneak peak on the inside and now it is time to take you outside. This limestone facade is adorned with incredible stone floral ornamentation, pendants, pilaster capitals and brackets. And can we talk about that cast iron canopy? Talk about a classy and royal entrance 💁🏽‍♀️✨.

Now, time to get down to the conditions assessment. I was called out to the site a few weeks ago to observe the conditions of the balcony brackets at the east and west wings. As seen in the third photo there is considerable cracking and incipient spalling, especially at that bottom piece 😳.

What may cause this? Typically, the existing anchorage holding a facade element (like this bracket) to the back-up masonry begins to corrode due to water infiltration at some point of entry. The build up of corrosion on the anchors pushes against the stone internally, causing it to crack and spall. In this case, we also have the issue of previous repairs failing, accelerating the deterioration. There were pins installed too close to the stone's edge that added new cracks connecting to some of the original cracks at the bottom which is no bueno. This one is a bit of mess but good news is we can salvage this!

10/12/2020

This is field life. Climbing ladders, getting stuck in suspended scaffolds, finding critters in spaces that are always just lovely little surprises 🕸️🕷️😱. It's sweaty, dirty and exhausting at times. No, it ain't glamorous but I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

Being in the field is my favorite part of my job as it enables me to get up close and personal to the structure I am trying to assess 👩🏽‍⚕️. There are days where I crawl into damp, muddy spaces fit only for a 5-year old and others, where I play jungle gym in an attic of a historic house. All of this is necessary for me to understand not only the existing conditions but more so, how all the key framing elements of structure come together and what needs a little TLC to last for another 50 to 100 years.

What is a favorite part of your work? Share below ⬇️

Ninajlouis

05/13/2022

11/09/2020

11/04/2020

11/04/2020

10/30/2020

10/29/2020

10/26/2020

10/23/2020

10/19/2020

10/16/2020

10/14/2020

10/12/2020

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category