Business Profile:	Healthcare Facility
Location:	Houston, Texas
Property Description:	Hospital
Project Profile:	Repair & Waterproofing
Project Budget:	$416,283.00
Final Cost:	$373,400.00

Client Objectives: 

• Provide replacement of existing sea/ants at the perimeter of windows and control joints

• Provide masonry repair and tuckpointing procedures

• Provide cleaning of existing masonry

• Provide specialized cleaning of window glass to remove streaking which would not clean with typical window cleaning techniques

• Provide specialized cleaning of anodized aluminum window frames to remove heavy oxidation and staining

Solution:

Upon examination of the building, it was noted that to remove existing sealants properly would require excessive grinding of the masonry. The potential of dust entering the hospital rooms due to the grinding was too great. We, therefore, designed the new sealant joints at the perimeter of windows to be installed using extruded silicone spanning over the existing sealant which was allowed to remain in place.

For the glass, we recommended the use of a specialized cleaning process using cerium oxide as a polishing agent to clean the glass.

The total project included the use of silicone sealants and extruded silicone for waterproof joints. The masonry was tuckpointed, received limited areas of masonry replacement, was cleaned and treated with a clear water-repellant. The windows were wet-glazed with silicone sealant to address the deteriorating neoprene gaskets. The exterior aluminum frames at windows and louvers were cleaned with the specialized process. The exterior glass was cleaned and the project was expanded to also include cleaning of the interior glass panes.

Outcomes:

The project was originally budgeted at $416,283.00. Butch’s Waterproofing Company of Houston, Texas, the primary contractor, completed the project within eight months at a final project cost of $373,400.00.

Both the glass and the metal window frames were discolored and stained from lime deposits bleeding out of the pre-cast spandrel panels and from oxidation. The lime deposits were streaked on to the glass and would no longer clean. We recommended the use of a specialized cleaning process for the metal frames utilizing volcanic pumice as an abrasive cleaning agent.