North Center, Chicago, IL

The roofing membrane was incorrectly installed, completely covering the roof side of the parapet wall and the limestone copings. This, combined with tuckpointing using hard cement mortar on the front side of the parapet wall, trapped moisture within the wall and prevented it from evaporating, leading to parapet wall deterioration. To repair the damage, the roofing membrane was removed from the parapet wall, the outer wythe of brick was rebuilt using common brick and lime-based mortar, and the roofing membrane was correctly reinstalled with a termination bar. Now the parapet wall can “breathe” again.