Abbot Building Restoration recently completed a comprehensive masonry restoration project at 266 and 274 Summer St. in the city's historic Fort Point Channel waterfront neighborhood. These landmark multi-story brick masonry buildings served as warehouses at the turn of the 20th century. Now converted to office buildings, they are currently primarily occupied by Vanderweil Engineers, a national engineering consulting firm headquartered in the city.
The rear walls of both buildings were experiencing significant leakage caused by erosion of the brick joints over the years. In addition, the building was originally constructed with steel shutters over the windows hung on cast iron supporting pins that were anchored at all four corners of every window. These anchors were deteriorating and dislodging from the surface causing safety concerns.
The building owner contracted with an architectural consulting firm (Hardaway Associates, Wellesley, MA) to evaluate the situation and recommend remedial action. To resolve the problems, Abbot was contracted to completely repoint the brick masonry walls, and to remove all of the cast iron pins and replace them with brick.
To comply with the regulations of the Fort Point Channel Landmark Commission, the construction and architectural team provided brick and mortar color samples to replicate the original appearance of the building. The samples were approved by the team and periodically reviewed during construction to maintain standards.
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.
Specific areas of expertise include:
* Masonry construction and repairs;
* Weatherproofing services: Caulking; pointing; waterproofing; special coatings and sealants; and
* Roof repair, replacement, or resurfacing.