Abbot Building Restoration restores masonry on Harbor Loft Apartments

Harbor Loft Apartments is an 8-story brick high-rise building located at the corner of Washington and Broad St. in downtown. When the building was converted to public housing back in the 1960's, Abbot Building Restoration became involved with some minor repairs at that time. Coincidentally, Abbot has come full circle some 50 years later, and was recently contracted by the current building owner to perform maintenance on Washington St. elevation that was experiencing severe water penetration around the windows and masonry. The contract called for Abbot to cut out and repoint the masonry on the top five floors where the most severe water damage had occurred. Also, as a previous contractor has resealed the windows improperly, Abbot removed the defective sealant around multiple joints on each window - metal to masonry, metal-to-metal, and metal to glass - and removed the entire remaining residue. Abbot then resealed the affected locations with a high-grade polyurethane sealant to match the original color around the exterior of the windows. Finally, Abbot applied a clear, water repellant coating to help protect the masonry surfaces. The project was performed in conjunction with architectural consultant, Brian Pfeiffer, and the Essex National Heritage Commission. Abbot Building Restoration Company specializes in repair and maintenance of the building enclosures of aging structures in the greater Boston area. Abbot also provides remedial weatherproofing services to correct construction deficiencies in newer structures.