Boston – Abbot Building Restoration Company, Inc. recently completed a comprehensive facade repair project on a high-rise commercial building located at 75 Kneeland Street in Downtown Boston. Abbot was awarded the contract following a competitive bidding process among multiple masonry contractors in the local area.
The 14-story building is constructed of brick and precast stone; the bottom four floors of precast stone and the upper floors are a blend of stone and brick with precast panel insets and sills. The project focused on the elevation at the intersection of Kneeland and Hudson Streets.
Based on the plan developed by Boston architectural firm, Walker Consultants, Abbot first erected built-up pipe staging on the full length of the elevation. The company then performed repairs which included pressure washing the entire facade, patching horizontal concrete and sills throughout the building as necessary, caulking all expansion joints and windows, replacing a total of 40 steel lintels, tuck pointing and replacing brick as necessary, replacing a total of 24 precast sills, wet glazing windows as necessary, and applying two coats of Conpro Lastic waterproof elastomeric coating to the bottom two precast stone floors formulated to match the existing color.
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Among the major challenges that Abbot faced were the unknowns involved in determining how best to work within the system in light of the COVID pandemic. The project was delayed from its outset in March until the City of Boston allowed work to resume at the beginning of June. Enforcing all COVID-related rules provided a further impediment beyond the normal jobsite safety protocols.
