Abbot Restores 6-Story Commercial Building in Downtown Boston  

Abbot recently completed a major masonry restoration project on a 6-story commercial building located at the corner of Summer and Kingston Streets in downtown Boston.

The project consisted of repairs and preventive maintenance to the mansard roof located on the top floor of the building and to the marble building façade.  

87 Summer Street, Boston, MA

To restore the mansard, Abbot was contracted to replace all of the metal and to install new fabricated metal to match the original shapes of the dormers. Abbot also coated the metal to match the original color, and repair and waterproof the gutter system around the perimeter of the top floor.

In addition, Abbot  partially repointed the marble facade on the entire building, and repaired cracks in the marble as specified on the project plans. 

As this month's Case Study article describes restoration of a building with a "mansard" roof, we thought it would be appropriate to provide a description of what it is.

A "mansard" roof (or "hip" roof) has two slopes on each of the four sides. The lower slope, often punctured by dormer windows, is at a steeper angle than the upper slope. The steep lower slope creates an additional floor of living space. The upper slope has a low pitch and may not easily seen from ground level. 

The term "mansard" comes from the French architect, Francois Mansart, who revived interest in this roofing style in the early 1600s. In the mid-1600s, mansard roofs were often incorporated into building styles as Paris was being rebuilt by Napoleon III. In fact, this style of roof was used for portions of the famous Louvre art museum.