Terracotta Troubles: How a Fifth Avenue Co-op Faced the Challenges of Facade Repair

Problem Solved! For Co-ops and Condos

Many apartment buildings with terracotta details are beautiful to look at, but with beauty comes expense if the material needs repair. Dane Barnes P.E, partner at Joseph K. Blum, was hired to do a façade inspection at a prominent Fifth Avenue co-op and found multiple cracks on the terracotta cornice. Small cracks often signify dangerous conditions underneath. “When we see these kinds of conditions our heart sinks because we know we’re going to have to give bad news to the board.” In this episode of Problem Solved, Habitat editor Paula Chin interviews Dane Barnes to learn how the bad news was delivered, what materials were proposed for the fix, how the project passed all the regulatory hurdles, the project cost and the final outcome.

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