Our Case Studies

After having to demobilize for Hurricane Irene and remobilize, multiple areas of the two towers in Manhattan, NYC were reporting substantial water intrusion at the floor level which had not been part of the original New York Local Law 11 work. After investigation with the building's hired engineer, it was determined that the old PVC waterproofing behind the brick had deteriorated to the point where it was brittle and cracking. This was causing leaks into the various apartments under driving rain.

Several months after completion, a fire that started on the 3rd floor terrace damaged several floors of brickwork including precast work around the perimeter parapet wall which had to be fixed in a timely manner. Additionally, the dark heavy smoke from the fire had stained the brick facade up 10 floors, which required finding the best cleaning method to get the results the owner sought.

Repairs required removing 5 courses of brick resting on the concrete eyebrow, removing the existing PVC waterproofing, applying Grace Bituthene 4000, sealing all splices and terminations, water testing all areas repaired with the building engineer present, and installing new brick to match the existing.

For the fire damage, the team conducted sounding for heat-damaged brick in addition to the visible damage. We replaced damaged flashings, fabricated new coping stones along the perimeter parapet wall, and cleaned the facade. The cleaning proved difficult given that the brick texture allowed soot particles to be trapped in the tiny crevasses of the brick — it was resolved by testing various cleaning products by Prosoco until the best one for the job was found.

Original work was based on the Local Law 11 report and called for repairs to existing control joints, pointing, brick replacement, caulking of AC sleeves, and concrete eyebrow repairs. After Hurricane Irene, we installed waterproofing and new brick at the eyebrows. Finally, we thoroughly cleaned and repaired damaged brick on one side of the 131 building caused by the fire on the patio terrace.