Masonry Solutions
News and Insights on the Masonry Repair and Maintenance of Institutional, Commercial, and Condominium Buildings in Eastern Massachusetts
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In this issue of Masonry Solutions, our Case Study article describes Abbot's restoration of the facade of a 5-story pre-cast concrete mixed-use building in downtown Boston. Our Masonry 101 article provides a definition and describes the advantages of pre-cast concrete in building construction.
We trust that you will benefit from the information provided in this publication. If you have any comments or questions, or would like an estimate on a masonry repair project, we can be reached at
617-445-0274 or at www.abbotbuilding.com.
Sincerely,
Michael Norman, President
Abbot Building Restoration Company, Inc.
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Abbot Restores Facade of 5-Story Mixed-Use Building in Downtown Boston
Abbot recently completed the restoration of the façade of a 5-story pre-cast concrete mixed-use commercial building at 26 West Street in downtown Boston.
 The building was experiencing deterioration at various locations where the concrete had spalled. The owner initially hired an un-named contractor to repair the spalls. However, the contractor used a standard color repair material which when the job was completed did not match the color of the original pre-cast concrete.
Based on Abbot's vast experience with color matching of masonry surfaces, the owner subsequently hired Abbot to remove the previously repaired concrete sections and replace them with a specially colored concrete to match the surrounding areas thereby enhancing the aesthetics of the building.
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What is Pre-Cast Concrete?
Pre-cast concrete is produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, aesthetically finished, transported to the construction site, and installed onto a building or structure. In contrast, standard cast-in-place concrete is poured into site-specific forms and cured on site.
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Architectural pre-cast concrete uses additives in the mixture to produce an aesthetically pleasing product.
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Pre-cast concrete is commonly referred to as either "architectural pre-cast" or "gray pre-cast.". "Architectural pre-cast", used in building construction applications such as in the 26 West Street Case Study above, uses a variety of fine aggregate, color additives, and specialty enhancements in the mixture, to create an architecturally aesthetic pleasing product. On the other hand, "gray pre-cast" is used in many foundational applications such as bridge girders, sewer pipes, manhole covers, and buried tanks.
As pre-cast concrete is produced in a manufacturing plant as opposed to a construction site, it has the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored for quality and workmanship.
Financially, the forms used in a pre-cast plant may be reused many times which allows lower unit cost than for on-site cast production.
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Abbot Building Restoration Company, Inc.
28 Allerton Street, Boston, MA 02119
Tel: 617-445-0274 · Fax: 617-445-0277
info@abbotbuilding.com ·
www.abbotbuilding.com
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Featured Articles
Case Study
Abbot recently completed restoration of the facade of a 5-story mixed-use building in downtown Boston.
See full article below
Masonry 101
What is "pre-cast" concrete?
See full article below
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