AUSTIN, Texas — Western Specialty Contractors’ Austin branch says salvaged materials played a critical role in bringing new life to the aging façade of one of the Texas capital’s historic buildings. The St. Louis–based contractor turned to reclaimed bricks to help preserve the character of the Skyhouse Lounge — a venue Western describes as Austin’s first barbershop combined with a rooftop cocktail lounge, located in the city’s bustling warehouse district on Congress Avenue.
The 100-year-old structure showed decades of wear from repeated alterations, coatings and exposure. Western says the exterior masonry had been damaged, painted over, and layered with various compounds through the years. “To further complicate the restoration, the wall’s existing masonry was covered in tar, stucco, paint and other ‘mysterious’ foreign materials,” says the contracting firm, noting that the condition of the wall required a careful, methodical approach.
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Western teamed up with ECS Southwest of Fort Worth to take on masonry restoration, waterproofing and tuckpointing for the exposed façade. According to project manager Webster Wrightsman, the deterioration was extensive and unexpected.
“The bricks and mortar were basically crumbling out of the wall, and it took delicate care to properly remove, lay up the brick/block and tuckpoint,” he says.
The severity of deterioration forced the team to rethink original assumptions. “The engineer originally estimated 50 percent of the mortar needed to be tuckpointed—this turned into virtually 100 percent,” Wrightsman continues. With many bricks too compromised to salvage, the team supplemented with new materials. “Many of the bricks were too deteriorated to salvage, so we had to purchase pallets of new brick to lay up.”
However, to maintain the building’s historic texture and aesthetic, Western sourced salvaged materials. Wrightsman says the team sought brick that would blend naturally with what remained of the original façade.
“We ended up purchasing reclaimed bricks to keep the aged aesthetic to the façade. There were also many years of stucco, waterproofing and paint layers to remove. This required brainstorming from the engineer and manufacturer to figure out the best cleaning agent to remove everything.”
During repairs, Western’s crew uncovered a surprising structural feature behind the building’s lower roof area — a change that forced redesigns mid-project. Wrightsman says what was thought to be a solid brick wall turned out to contain other materials, prompting a change in the installation plan.
“We had to alter the work scope to extend the thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) membrane up the bottom half of wall and place Hardie [fiber cement] backer board on the top half,” he says.
The project’s roofing team installed the updated system seamlessly, Wrightsman adds. “Our excellent roofing crew flawlessly installed the new membrane and had no issues with the unforeseen circumstances.”
With the building located in a busy downtown area, Western says coordinating access was a project in itself. Construction crews had to navigate parking constraints and events nearby.
“Access to the south elevation wall was a challenge because all parking stalls adjacent to the wall had to be purchased by ownership for the duration of the project,” Wrightsman says. In addition, the team temporarily vacated the site due to a major event: “We also had to de-mobilize and re-mobilize during the project to allow full parking lot access for a South by Southwest (SXSW music festival) event.”
Despite structural surprises and logistical hurdles, Western reports the Skyhouse renovation was finished only about two weeks after the contractual deadline and remained within budget. The contractor attributed the delay to “several unforeseen conditions and additional work required to properly complete the restoration.”
Western Specialty Contractors, founded more than a century ago, calls itself the largest U.S. specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing and specialty roofing. The family-owned company employs more than 1,200 people across 30 branches nationwide.
Originally reported by Brian Taylor, Senior Editor in CD Recycler.
