Front Elevation - The façade restoration was localized to the South elevation and Towers
Pleasant Street Christian Reformed Church, located in Whitinsville, MA, is a brick masonry building constructed in 1929 with an addition that was built in 1994.
GRLA conducted a capital needs evaluation of the building envelope - roofs, walls, windows, and doors. Leaks were occurring in several areas of the facility; but most heavily in the interior of what are commonly referred to as the Towers (East Tower and West Tower) located at the South elevation of the original building – the entrance. It was identified that multiple areas of the exterior brick masonry tower cladding had cracked, and it appeared that portions of the brick cladding had moved.
Terracotta Backup Wall
Upon demolition of select areas of brick masonry scheduled to be rebuilt, the terracotta backup wall was observed in very rough shape (rubble like) at the upper limits of the towers (which explains, at least partially, some of the observed issues) requiring both greater safety and attention to detail – ultimately because of the conditions, the securement of the brick masonry veneer was swapped from helical ties and veneer anchors to all helical ties.
Helical Ties
Cracked Brick Masonry Spot Replacement
Steel Lintel Replacement & Flashing
Precast Coping Stone Removal and Reinstallation
100% Mortar Repointing
Precast Spall and Crack Repair / Select Precast Securement
Minimal flashing heights at the low slope roofs are what drove the decision to switch from an EPDM sheet membrane to Kemper liquid membrane
GRLA worked very closely with Pleasant Street Christian Reformed Church and Atlantic Restoration every step of the way to ensure that priorities of the church were met – ultimately, the main entrance to the church has been restored with a rejuvenated, and most importantly a safe façade.