Brownstone Facade Repair
I am noticing small cracks in our brownstone facade and want to be pro-active about repair as i do not want to redo the entire facade. has anyone ever just gone the pre-emptive measure route? and if so-does anyone have any recs for this work?
I am noticing small cracks in our brownstone facade and want to be pro-active about repair as i do not want to redo the entire facade. has anyone ever just gone the pre-emptive measure route? and if so-does anyone have any recs for this work?
to distinguish brownstone from stucco is very easy. Brown stone in NYC has been delivered from Connecticut and the color is Brown.Do not do brownstone restoration with Portland cement. Contractors that do not have experience use Portland cement mixed with sand and color. Portland cement create reaction on brownstones. If you want more info call me at 347-682-1702. Presently I am doing a brownstone restoration in Manhattan and the materiel that i am using comes from Europe
Minard-I am not naive. I am an experienced Brownstone renovator. There were many different procedures and types of brownstone back in the day and many types of procedurres and types of brownstone repair now. I honestly think you are the one who is naive if you think Brownstone is so cut and dry.
Wser, I believe that my house is like the other houses on my block and has a brownstone veneer over brick. certainly the type of deterioration I am seeing (flaking and cracking) is in line with Brownstone deterioration. My question is who has a good rec for this kind of work? i am not interested in doing a complete facade overhaul __i am just interested in basic repair.
seems like Zwolski and asia 2010 only make comments that promote themselves. check out there history of comments.
I have been very happy with the services of Anthy, 347-307-4725. He has done magnificent work at restoring, patching, color matching of my various brownstones. A chimney, stairs, facade. He’s very very good at what he does and his prices are very modest. I strongly recommend you give him a call. I
I would recommend mr. patrick at 1646-945-7315. He is a brownstone specilaist and best of all is very affordable!
If you are seeing flaking, as in wearing away of the stone in very thin layers, then it is probably natural stone. Stucco will have a more uniform appearance and will weather very differently. If you look at it close up, stucco will look more like cement (pieces of sand and aggregate, with tinted binder) while natural stone will have darker-colored aggregate and more micaceous flakes. But to the lay person’s eye, it is difficult to tell the difference.
Minard is right – if you are unsure, look for some objective advice (beyond me and Minard) before you bring a contractor on line. A good place to start is with the Landmarks Conservancy, a non-profit that has a good technical services division. They also publish the Brownstone Guide, good basic introduction to the care and feeding of natural stone. (http://www.nylandmarks.org/publications/technical_guides/)
you can’t tell the difference between natural stone and stucco? Perhaps you should reach out for help to one of the groups that provide free advise to home owners. I am afraid that a contractor may take advantage of your naivete. And it is so easy to mess up a brownstone facade.
I think its brownstone although I am not sure. How do I tell the difference? We have lived here about 3.5 years and this is the first I am seeing of it. I read somewhere that it happens first under windows because of the ACs and that is where i am seeing a little bit of flaking–also places where the water drips off the fire escape. I am no expert but the pattern seems to be where there is concentrated water flow.
You can certainly patch brownstone on a piecemeal basis. You should figure out why the cracking is happening – is it a one-time thing, or is it part of a larger deterioration pattern that should be addressed (otherwise, you’ll just be back at it next year).
Also, is the facade brownstone or is it stucco?