The Sani-Freeze, affectionately known as the Sani-Flush, was an ice cream shop located on Glenn Avenue, and operated for decades in downtown Auburn, serving hamburgers, hot dogs, and ice cream treats.  The original building was demolished over 20 years ago.  The Auburn Alumni Center would like a recreation of the building as a sign, from which they will sell food and ice cream on Auburn football Saturdays.  The purpose of this project is to build a historically accurate representation of the Sani-Freeze ice cream shop to be displayed outside of the Auburn Alumni Center. 

          Essential to the recreation is historical accuracy.  While the model will only consist of the front facade of the building, the team will take great care to recreate the original details, referencing historical photographs.  We will work with Dorris Sign Co. for a recreation of the menu sign, with each item and price depicted as accurate as possible.  We will also use green asphalt three-tab shingles for the short section of roof.  The front of the store will feature white lap siding, as well as the windows and door seen on the original storefront.  We intend to recreate the brick planters seen on the front of the building as well.

          We will begin by framing off site at the Building Science Field Lab.  We will use typical 2x4 treated Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) #2 members for the frame, connecting the members with 16d nails, spaced at 16” on center (O.C.).  Our design has seven parts that will be transported and assembled at the Alumni Center: 3 parts of the front facade, 2 side supports, the roof section, and the iconic sign. We will connect the 3 parts of the front facade using 1/2 x 8-in Hot-Dipped Galvanized (SAE) Hex Bolts.  At the outside ends of the front facade, where each side meets the side supports, we will use extra 2x4 members and connect the front facade to the supports using the same bolt connections. We will erect a one-foot knee wall to support the roof, which will run 3 feet and rise 1 foot. We will use metal brackets to help support the roof section. The sign will be attached to a 2x4 frame, and then attached to the roof deck with hinges, and tied back to the side supports using 2x4 members. The side supports will be constructed out of 2x10 treated Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) #2 members and covered 4 feet high with OSB on the inside face to allow sandbags to be loaded into the side supports for ballast.

          Our sheathing will consist of 4x8 sheets of ½” OSB, covered with wood siding.  Our connections for these members will be 16d nails.  Two of the four windows will be 3’x 3’ Plexiglas, framed with quarter round and caulk.  The other two windows will be “JELD-WEN V4500 Left-Operable Vinyl Double Pane Double Strength New Construction Sliding Window (Rough Opening: 36” x 12”; Actual: 35.5” x 11.5”).”

          The brick planters will be recreated using OSB, 2x4 material, and ¼” x 4’ x 8’ Kingston Brick Wall Panel to create a lightweight recreation of the originals. The Alumni Center staff will be able to set these out on game day to accentuate the sign. The menu sign will be made out of vinyl lettering that looks hand drawn and aluminum sheets with a fiberglass core that has a life span of 6 plus years.

          In conclusion, this project will be conducted with the upmost respect for the historical aspect of this project. The attention to details will be held at the forefront of all our minds all throughout the construction process.