Page 12 - New England Condominium April 2019

12 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM - APRIL 2019 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM L ike people, buildings age. Even under the best of circumstances, for mortar joints that involves removing Be it cold or warm weather, water can then weather – particularly water, in the the outer inch or so of existing mortar and cause erosion of the underlying steel.” form of rain, snow, and ice – followed by replacing it with new mortar. The existing or combined with extremes in tempera- ture can do permanent damage to facades, the strength of the new and old mortar is mostly aesthetic. The effects of pollution cornices, parapets and other ornamental the same. Bon explains that applying re- features, as well as to rear and side eleva- tions. These problems can be exacerbated original material will only cause additional ored stone black. The stone is porous and by design flaws or neglected maintenance. problems. The same is true of the converse; made more so by the effects of pollution, Often, it’s not until a thorough inspection, the new mortar shouldn’t be weaker than further weakening the facade and facilitat- a leak issue – or worse, an incident where the old mortar either. something falls from a facade and strikes someone on the ground below – that the in New York City — as well as other cold signs of a problem become evident. That’s climates — is the freeze,” says Eric Janc- why it’s so crucial that the signs are noticed zyk of Nova Restoration, a facade mainte- before damage is done. The Causes of Facade Deterioration “Structurally, a lot of issues we come have their own issues. In winter, you have and-tear it’s subjected to on a daily basis. across may be due to improper design,” the snow and ice hitting the building, and Nothing lasts forever – and different build- says Rhocel Bon, a senior associate at Klein moisture can infiltrate the building. Then ing components have different useful lives. & Hoffman, a national engineering firm it freezes up and can expand, causing pres- with offices in Chicago and Philadelphia. sure from within the walls, that can in turn be 25 to 30 years, while the longevity of a “We see flaws resulting from design, and cause areas of the facade to bulge and dis- even more from lack of maintenance, or place. Rain can also get behind the bricks, cording to Janczyk: “The life of a facade is deferred maintenance. With a brick build- ing for example, if there isn’t a tuckpoint- ing program, you’ll find that after some wind, rain, and snow – impacts sealants, A lot of them were constructed with poor- years, the mortar joints start to weather. making them age more quickly. The seal- Water enters the wall cavity, which can ants can become ‘gummy.’ This is especially need of repair now. In those buildings, the cause problems to the underlying steel.” Tuckpointing is a maintenance method true on east-facing facades and elevations. mortar must be tested first, to insure that cades is pollution, though that damage is placement mortar that is stronger than the known. It can turn the normally buff-col- “Most of the time, the biggest factor problems described above. nance and restoration company located in something can realistically last, given the Brooklyn, New York. “Both heat and cold environmental stressors and regular wear- which can create structural issues behind initially 50 to 60 years – but many buildings the facade. Exposure to the elements – sun, built in the 1970s didn’t demonstrate that. Another cause of deterioration on fa- on stone – particularly limestone – are well ing water infiltration leading back to the The Useful Life of a Facade ‘Useful life’ is a concept from account- ing and appraisal that assesses how long For example, the useful life of a roof might boiler might be 40 or even 50 years. Ac- ly-made glazed brick, and a lot of them are useful life of the facade is more like 25 or 30 years. That’s the result of poor construc- tion and/or poor materials. Who built a property, when it was built, and what it was built of are all major factors.” Repairing and Maintaining Your Facade Both Janczyk and Bon suggest that fa- cades, as well as side and rear elevations, be inspected for damage assessment every three to five years, whether they fall un- der required local inspection guidelines or not. They both agree that newer build- ings should be inspected a little more often than not, as older buildings were simply built better. If a problem or defect is found, in most cases the first step will be to install a build- ing canopy—also known as a sidewalk shed or a girdle—to prevent anyone from being struck by falling building materials. Over the past few decades there have been in- cidents of facade collapse causing fatal in- juries all over the country. These tragedies could have been avoided with regularly scheduled inspections and the installation of canopies. While no-one likes the cano- pies, and many municipalities are seeking to limit the time an owner can keep one up around their building, they are a necessary eyesore. “Despite complaints, we are not overdoing it with canopies,” says Janczyk. “The first priority,” says Bon, “is to se- cure any kind of hazard that may fall. Then we go up with scaffolding and touch the surface to see if anything is displaced. With masonry you are looking for corrosion, rust, etc. We check the sealant around par- apets and windows. Terracotta is difficult to inspect, because much of the seal isn’t visible. We test it by sound and feel. We do something similar with concrete. We tap it. Dilapidated concrete has a distinct sound.” Beginning restoration work depends on what problems are found. Much of it also depends on the client and how soon they want to act – which is one reason sidewalk canopies often stay up so long. The cost of repairs can be high, and the property owner may want to protect against liability from falling debris, but not complete the work immediately. Bon says he has seen building owners and administrators delay recommended work for as long as a year, depending on the client’s financial situa- tion and sense of urgency. For his part, Janczyk points out that it makes sense to complete all the work nec- Facade Restoration Taking Care of Your Building’s Exterior BY A J SIDRANSKY LANDSCAPING, LAWN CARE & CURB APPEAL ISTOCKPHOTO.COM