Abbot Building Restoration completes phase one of 4-story brick and concrete condo restoration project

Abbot Building Restoration completed the first phase of masonry restoration project on a 4-story brick and pre-cast concrete condominium building at 1871-1875 Commonwealth Ave. Acknowledging that the building was in need of significant masonry repairs, the condominium trustees conducted their own exploratory investigation to determine what repairs needed to be done to the exterior building walls. After conducting an interview process, Abbot was selected as the design/build contractor. Based on Abbot's recommendation, a multi-phase project was implemented with Phase 1 focusing on the Chestnut Hill Ave. side of the building where pointing, stone repair, brick replacement, and caulking of the windows was performed to repair the existing deficiencies. In Phase 1A, Abbot performed an investigation on the rear of the building where a series of enclosed stucco porches were located. During the course of the investigation, it was found that the horizontal and vertical steel beams supporting the porches were severely deteriorated and needed replacement. As part of the permitting process, the owner retained Structures Engineering Inc. to inspect the damage and formulate the repair strategy. Complicating the situation was that the project had to be accomplished without disturbing the interior living spaces by isolating the porches so that the residents were not affected. Working as a team, Abbot and Structures Engineering determined that least invasive way of performing the work was to support all of the wood floor joists by installing shoring frames from the ground through the interior of each floor level up to the roofline. After the supports were in place, Abbot removed all of the exterior stucco walls and partial wood framing to expose the steel. Then, Abbot carefully removed the steel, and installed new, galvanized structural steel in its place. Next, Abbot reframed the walls, installed new windows, and completed the project by installing an EIFS (exterior finish system) to replicate the original stucco appearance. As a further complication, the investigation and initial work took place in the Fall-Winter 2012 necessitating that the project be suspended over the cold winter months. Therefore, the porches were enclosed with scaffolding and kept watertight until project could be completed in spring 2013. The project is ongoing, and future phases will involve masonry repairs to additional elevations to improve the overall condition of the building. Abbot provides a broad range of masonry construction services to public, institutional, and commercial clients, including condominiums, property management entities, and private residences. The firm also acts as a general contractor for a variety of masonry building construction projects.