Special Report: Water Problems at Tower

Lincoln Education Center

The tower at Lincoln Education Center has water problems. Water is entering the building and causing damage to the interior finishes and materials.

The tower faces south and addresses downtown Billings with a quiet and solid dignity. It provides an important focal point for pedestrians and motorists alike. It also holds an engraving of powerful words and a bas-relief of Abraham Lincoln. This large area of limestone is approximately 16 x 12 feet.

Limestone is also used for stone bands as a design system to break up the elevation and add variety to the building facade. The bands provide horizontal elements to give the tower a strong presence, rooted to the ground.

The 1935 addition was designed by one of Billings’ most prolific architects of the era, Chandler C. CoHagen along with his partner at the time, A. V. McIver. At the same time, they designed the auditorium addition of Lincoln Center. The old Jefferson Schoolhouse was situated between these two additions.

Building Research Institute of Montana looked at some of the symptoms the water problems have created at the tower of Lincoln Center to try and ascertain the underlying cause.

The exterior north wall of the tower has been painted. Normally paint and stucco applied to the exterior of masonry causes more problems than it solves. Moisture is prevented from evaporating at the wall face. Any moisture from the inside can be trapped behind the paint or stucco and left there to possibly freeze and cause the masonry to spall.

Solutions

The water needs to be stopped from entering the building. To do this effectively a number of tasks will have to be performed.

• New flashing is needed on top of two levels of exterior wall just below the roof of the tower. This will prevent the water from draining between the wythes of brick.

• Repointing the brick and limestone is necessary to prevent water from entering from the face of the wall. It is best to repoint an entire area of masonry wall because visual inspection may not identify all of the damaged joints. Some work should be done inside the upper level of the tower on the structural clay tile.

• Roofing should be repaired or replaced. Possibly an integral gutter system could be incorporated in a replacement roof to help keep the water off the face of the brick and limestone. Please see the special report from Building Research Institute of Montana: Re-Roofing Lincoln Center.

• The brick and the limestone should be cleaned. This not only improves the appearance, but also allows for a better inspection process. Sealant (caulk) should be applied around doors and openings.

• The stucco on the west wall should be removed and replaced. The painted north wall should be prepared and repainted.

It is important to match the appropriate solution to the project. For example, one could apply exterior insulation (dryvit) to the tower but that would not be the correct application for the elegant building we have. This is an important civic structure and a symbol for the entire school district. In many ways, the future of the building depends on how the details are handled now.

Once a decision is made on the appropriate solution, another decision should be made on how thorough a job to do. For instance, if we decide to repoint the mortar joints, do we repoint the visible deterioration only or do we spend more time and energy providing a longer-term solution?

These decisions have important ramifications for the initial costs of the project and long-term maintenance costs. Generally, the more appropriate the solution and the more thoroughly we apply the solution, the less future costs and problems there will be. This has to be tempered with the reality of budgets and the priority of the project.

The costs can vary greatly depending on the solution and thoroughness applied to the project. The following table shows the costs of an appropriate and long-term solution.