A recent article in the Daily Commercial News describes the process of rehabilitating historic buildings – called heritage buildings in Canada – and mentions Vertical Access’ investigation of One King West, the former Dominion Bank Building in Toronto, Ontario. The article recaps a seminar presentation by Sarah Gray, managing principal with Halsall Associates, our client…
An article by Michael Beschloss in the New York Times, entitled A Place That Made Travelers Feel Important, recalls the 1963 demolition of Pennsylvania Station and hints at the possibility of a new Penn Station. The loss of Penn Station was a watershed event in the historic preservation movement, influencing the passage of the National Historic Preservation…
Each week we’re bringing you an in-depth look at one of the standard conditions we encounter and document during inspections of buildings and civil structures. Part 6: Failed Joints in Masonry Failed masonry joints occur when the mortar or sealant material between masonry units or between a masonry unit and an adjacent material has broken down…
Each week we’re bringing you an in-depth look at one of the standard conditions we encounter and document during inspections of buildings and civil structures. Part 5: Surface Loss Surface loss describes the disappearance of material at the outer faces of masonry units or concrete, and includes erosion, delamination, exfoliation, chipping, glaze loss and face spalling.…
Each week we’re bringing you an in-depth look at one of the standard conditions we encounter and document during inspections of buildings and civil structures. Part 4: Efflorescence and Leached Salts Efflorescence is a soft white deposit on the surface of masonry caused by water moving through the material and bringing dissolved minerals to the…
Each week we’re bringing you an in-depth look at one of the standard conditions we encounter and document during inspections of buildings and civil structures. Part 3: Spalls Spalling is the mechanism by which shear stresses within masonry or concrete force pieces of the material to break away. This process is sometimes referred to as…
Each week we’re bringing you an in-depth look at one of the standard conditions we encounter and document during inspections of buildings and civil structures. Part 2: Crazing Crazing is a pattern of fine hairline cracks along the surface of a material, sometimes appearing in a net-like or web-like pattern. Crazing in concrete is also known…
Each week we’re bringing you an in-depth look at one of the standard conditions we encounter and document during inspections of buildings and civil structures. Part 1: Cracks and Crack Systems in Masonry Cracks of varying degrees of severity are almost always found during investigations of stone, brick, concrete and terra cotta building materials. Cracks can…
Twice a year, Vertical Access representatives attend meetings of the ANSI Z359 committee to assist in the creation and modernization of fall protection standards. The ANSI Z359 suite of standards addresses just about all forms of fall protection equipment (harnesses, carabiners, lanyards, fall arrestors, etc) and associated work practices (rope access, rescue, management of fall…
Test your knowledge of historic and iconic buildings in the U.S. (and beyond!) in this series of “guess the building” blog posts. Series No. 2: The “Cathedral of Presbyterianism” A very modern grotesque was spotted high up on this nineteenth-century church with an impressive address. Some of the badly-deteriorated original stone carvings were replaced in the 1990s,…
