The Challenge

Water was entering the 1935 school administration building destroying ceilings, floors and disrupting activities. The client was unsure of how the water was getting in since the masonry was deteriorating along with the copper flashing and the original cement-asbestos tile roof. Overall the building was in good shape having undergone mostly interior renovation in 1987.

The brick exterior and the roof was not included in that project. The building envelope had been in a general state of decline for years. The client waited until an emergency situation arose to deal with the problems.

As usual, this emergency came at an inopportune time - the middle of winter. It was also a difficult job to access being more than 50-feet high.

The Solution

Building Research Institute of Montana researched the problems and reported back to the owner quickly with recommendations and projected cost estimates.

We recommended: replace the copper flashing with new 16 0unce copper, repoint the brick and limestone, replace spalled and broken brick, re-roof the tower and install an integral gutter, clean the brick and limestone and apply sealant around doors and windows, remove and replace the falling stucco on the west side and prepare and repaint the north wall.

What You Need to Know

Restoration of brick is best done before major deterioration begins. The more cracked and spalled brick there are the more costly the project will be. The deeper the mortar joint is exposed the easier it is for the brick to be damaged.

You may not be able to find exact replacement brick to match your existing brick. Why wait until your original brick is destroyed to fix it? It is much less expensive to instigate a program of inspection early on and prepare for ongoing restoration a little every year.

Develop a partnership with a reputable mason. If the project is required to be bid, bid work for one to five years so the same mason who knows your buildings can do the repair work efficiently. He can pass this savings on to you.

Pre-qualify bidders! Don't wait until the project is a rush job. Rushing may reduce the quality of the finished project. It will definitely cost more.

Even buildings less than 10-years old many times have places that need work. It doesn't make sense to wait until the problem causes damage to the building or increases the damage to the brick. It costs much more to play catch up for this type of restoration.

Painting, stucco and other stop-gap measures only postpone the inevitable and actually cause more rapid deterioration. They help seal the brick, trapping moisture behind it. Once they are applied, they are difficult to remove without damaging the brick. Many times the paint and stucco have to be reapplied to stay within budget.

Ideas to Get Started

Survey the entire exterior of the building and document it with photography and drawings. Get preliminary estimates from the craftsmen that will do the work. Relying on estimating books entirely can cause severe sticker shock when the project is bid.

After you arrive at a reliable figure, develop a strategic plan to do small areas of the project in phases over many seasons. This approach keeps the project from being budget breakers or from not being done at all. We all know what happens when the project isn't done. The building is eventually torn down because of neglect.

Don't assume a new building will eliminate your masonry woes. Many examples exist that show that new buildings can have the same problems - just recast in cheaper molds.

Questions, Answers, and Lessons to be Learned

Q: What is the building envelope you talk about?

A: The building envelope includes the exterior components that make up the building, which protects the interior from the natural elements. The roof, walls, foundations, windows and their flashings, trim and sealant are all part of the building envelope.

Lesson: It is important to look at the entire building envelope when developing a long-term strategy for protecting the building from deterioration. Preparing standards for all maintenance personnel to follow should be one part of your strategy.

Example: Electricians installing outdoor lights drill holes in the masonry for the conduit and anchors. If these holes are not sealed properly, the damage to the building over the years can be substantial.

Q: Why not just build a new building? After all, the designs of the old ones don't fit with the new methods of teaching.

A: Look at some of the new ones, they don't fit too well either. There was a story going around of an old school being torn down because the gymnasium was in the center of the building and caused disruption in the classes. When the new school was built the taxpayers were surprised to find the gymnasium in the center of the school again!

Lesson: Do not assume your old building will be replaced with one any better. The budgets for new school construction are many times inadequate to provide the quality design and materials needed for heavy long-term use.

Besides, new buildings demand constant upkeep also, or they slide into disrepair. The cycle of build and throw away must be curtailed if our nation is to be serious about the protection of the environment and energy use issues.

To Learn More

Read/Contact
Masonry Design and Detailing, Christine Beall, McGraw-Hill 1987
Brick Institute of America
Indiana Limestone Institute
E-mail the Director