Western Specialty Contractors—Chicago Masonry branch has replaced all exterior sealants at 211 East Chicago Ave., a 23-story physicians’ building in Northwestern University’s Downtown Medical Campus, as part of the building’s routine maintenance program.
Constructed in 1965, the 394,230-square-foot high-rise currently houses offices for Chicago Women’s Health Group, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, Northwestern Medicine Internal Medicine, American Dental Association, and Northwestern Medical Group.
Commercial real estate services firm Avison Young contracted with Western in August 2022 to replace weathered sealants on the building’s exposed precast aggregate column joints at the north, west and south elevations of the property. The project also included the replacement of sealants at the window perimeters, metal-to-metal joints and glazing, and silicone tape at the mechanical joints.
Western’s façade restoration experts recommend inspecting a building’s caulk joints and sealants at least once a year to look for any signs of deterioration, including cracking, flaking or missing material. Gaps in a building’s façade can lead to water intrusion and structural damage if not addressed. On a typical building or parking garage, these gaps only account for about one percent of the total surface area, but they’re responsible for 90 percent of all water intrusion problems.
Using swing stages, Western completed the project on time and within budget in January 2023 without disrupting the tenants of the 211 East Chicago building.
Contact the Chicago Masonry crew
About Western Specialty Contractors
Family-owned and operated for over 100 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing, and specialty roofing. Western offers a nationwide network of expertise that building owners, engineers, architects, and property managers can count on to develop cost-effective, corrective measures that can add years of useful life to a variety of structures, including industrial, commercial, healthcare, historic, educational and government buildings, parking structures, and sports stadiums. Western is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, with 30 branch offices nationwide and employs more than 1,200 salaried and hourly professionals who offer the best, time-tested techniques and innovative technology.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.