Masonry Restoration and Preservation

Cheating the Specifications

None of the Brick courses were taken out as per the specification bid, with no supervision this contractor cheated everyone involved, especially the GC that hired him. *lpine Restoration was responsible for this mess and cost this project more money.

Skimmed Over Masonry Mortar Joints, Cheating Specifications

To take this small architectural masonry element out and rebuild requires a developed skill, obviously they did not posses this skill and skim coated over joints. The other contractors bid their numbers accordantly.

Window Arches

Masonry Arches are very difficult to recreate, but to skim over the joints like this eliminates the "Thought", planning process out of the equation and the work and completing the job becomes very easy for anyone to accomplish.

Cover Up The Mess With Paint!

Many large sections were painted over a solution to cover up the ugly mortar joints at main entrance.
More money had to be acquired and once again the specifications or "original intentions" for this building changed.

Special Masonry Paint and the prep work before painting is another technical skill and experience one needs to process. Obviously whom ever painted these sections did not use the right process or material.

Painted

7 years later the paint is peeling due to poor preparation and "Inappropriate material". Special masonry paint and application should be applied to masonry. Brick needs to breath and in this case moisture has built up, the brick will decay underneath.

Lower right incomplete

Lower right section was not completed

Masonry Cleaning

Lower section of this wall remains in it's original state. One can see were they skimmed over the joints. Repairs after the masonry cleaning process should not show and should blend with areas that were not repaired.

Wall Not Structurally Repaired

Far right section most of original joints have not been skim coated.
Lower left (Smeared mortar) discolored after cleaning.

Courses not taken out

This wall should have been rebuilt. Courses should have been taken out, basically if completed and restored properly one would see courses realigned, but again skimmed over so underneath this mess failure still exists and unstable.

Skim Coat

Close up of skim coat next to original joints

Poor Brick Match installed

Matching brick and installing to appear original is an art in itself a critical eye is needed to acquired and foresee a good match and installation with matching mortar color and duplicating mortar joints so repairs "marry" cohesively.

Large areas skimmed coated

Skim Coated