Massachusetts Facade Restoration & Waterproofing Services
Restoring and protecting commercial building exteriors across Boston, Worcester, Springfield and the rest of Massachusetts for more than 25 years.
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Boston, MA
Suffolk CountyFacadeWaterproofingParking DecksRoof CoatingsHistoricLeak DetectionView Boston services →Worcester, MA
Worcester CountyFacadeWaterproofingParking DecksRoof CoatingsHistoricLeak DetectionView Worcester services →Springfield, MA
Hampden CountyFacadeWaterproofingParking DecksRoof CoatingsHistoricLeak DetectionView Springfield services →Elsewhere In Massachusetts
Cambridge, Lowell, Brockton, Quincy, Lynn, New Bedford, Fall River, Newton, Somerville, Framingham, Waltham, Medford, Haverhill and Taunton.
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Commercial Facade Restoration And Waterproofing In Massachusetts
Presto Restoration restores and waterproofs the exteriors of large commercial buildings across Massachusetts, including Boston, Worcester and Springfield. Work covers facade glass, metal and stone, commercial caulking and sealants, parking deck coatings, fluid-applied roofing, historic preservation and leak detection. Presto works above grade only, on multi-story commercial property, and does not take residential or small-scale projects.
- Service area
- Boston, Worcester and Springfield and surrounding areas across Massachusetts
- Building types
- Office and condominium towers, hotels, hospitals and research buildings, university and government buildings, parking structures and historic landmarks
- What drives the work
- Some of the oldest commercial building stock in the country, a hard freeze-thaw cycle with heavy road salt, coastal nor'easters, and a facade inspection ordinance in Boston
STATEWIDE
Our Restoration Services
Facade RestorationMasonry repair, repointing, sealant replacement and coatings on brick, terra cotta, precast and curtain wall.
Commercial WaterproofingJoint sealants, wet glazing, water repellents and plaza deck systems that keep the envelope dry.
Parking Deck RestorationConcrete repair, traffic coatings and expansion joints on structures that take road salt every winter.
Commercial Roofing & CoatingsFluid-applied systems over single-ply, metal and modified bitumen, extending roof life without a tear-off.
Historic PreservationSubstrate-matched cleaning and repair for soft brick, limestone, cast stone and architectural metal.
Leak Detection & ConsultingControlled water testing, infrared thermography and invasive openings to find the actual source.
MA
LOCAL CONDITIONS
Why Massachusetts Buildings Need Engineered Envelope Solutions
Old Masonry In A Freeze-Thaw Climate
Massachusetts asks a building envelope to do something unusual: survive a full northern freeze-thaw cycle while built, in many cases, out of materials that predate the idea of a modern wall assembly. Brick, brownstone and granite laid in soft lime mortar behave nothing like a curtain wall. Water enters through open joints and hairline cracks, freezes, expands and opens the path it came in by, and the next thaw lets more water in behind it. Repointing one of these walls with a mortar harder than the brick makes it worse rather than better, because the brick then becomes the sacrificial material and starts to spall at the face.
Parking decks carry the other half of the load. Vehicles track road salt onto the slab all winter, meltwater drives the chloride down into the concrete, and chloride destroys the protective layer around the reinforcing steel. The steel corrodes, expands and forces the slab apart from inside. Traffic coatings, sound expansion joints and prompt repair of the first delaminations cost a fraction of a structural rebuild, and on a deck in this climate the gap between those two numbers widens every year it is left alone.
Coastal Weather And A Real Inspection Regime
The eastern side of the state takes nor'easters and the occasional tropical system, which drive rain horizontally into every opening the envelope has and put salt air on anchors, lintels, railings and flashing near the coast. Massachusetts also has more inspection obligation around building exteriors than most states, which changes how owners here plan. The requirements worth knowing are below, and the practical effect of both is the same: exterior condition is something you are periodically obliged to document, so it is cheaper to run a maintenance program than to meet an inspection cycle with a wall that has been ignored for a decade. A great many commercial buildings in Boston, Worcester and Springfield also sit in locally designated historic districts, where visible exterior work goes before a local commission first and material, mortar and color decisions need settling during scoping rather than after a crew mobilizes.
BostonOccupied buildings over 70 feet, and all high-rises, need a facade inspection by a registered architect or engineer every five years under city ordinance 9-9.12. Unoccupied buildings over 35,000 cubic feet are inspected annually. Buildings are reported as Safe, Safe with a Repair and Maintenance Program, or Unsafe.
StatewideSeparately from the facade rule, the state building code requires exterior bridges, stairs, fire escapes and egress balconies to be examined and certified every five years by a registered design professional.
RECENT WORK
Massachusetts Portfolio Highlights
QUESTIONS
Building Restoration In Massachusetts
Does Presto Restoration Work Throughout Massachusetts?
Yes. Boston, Worcester and Springfield have their own service pages, and we take commercial projects across the rest of the state including Cambridge, Lowell, Quincy, Brockton, New Bedford and Framingham. We don't have a true HQ, so crews are assembled around the project rather than dispatched from one fixed location.
What Kinds Of Buildings Does Presto Work On In Massachusetts?
Large commercial and institutional property: high-rise offices, hospitals, research and laboratory buildings, universities, hotels, condominium and multifamily towers, parking structures, government buildings and historic commercial buildings. Our work is above grade, meaning the building envelope from the plaza deck up. Plaza decks, parking structures and elevated walkways are in scope.
Does Boston Require Facade Inspections?
Yes. Under Boston ordinance 9-9.12, occupied buildings over 70 feet tall and all high-rises need a facade inspection by a registered architect or engineer every five years, and unoccupied buildings over 35,000 cubic feet are inspected annually. Buildings are reported as Safe, Safe with a Repair and Maintenance Program, or Unsafe, and the latter two carry required corrective work. This is a Boston city requirement rather than a statewide one, so a building in Worcester or Springfield is not covered by it.
Why Does Repointing Old Brick Sometimes Make A Wall Worse?
Because of mortar hardness. Older Massachusetts masonry was laid in soft lime mortar that was meant to be the weakest part of the wall, so that movement and moisture would work on the joints rather than the brick. Repoint it with a modern high-cement mortar and you reverse that: the joint becomes harder than the brick around it, and the brick starts taking the damage instead, spalling at the face. On historic masonry the mortar has to be matched to the substrate, which is slower and more expensive than a standard repoint and saves the wall.
Do We Need Historic Approval For Exterior Work In Massachusetts?
Often, yes. Boston, Worcester and Springfield all contain locally designated historic districts, and Boston in particular has several with their own commissions. Visible exterior work on a building inside one generally goes before a local commission before it proceeds. Confirm a building's status and settle material, mortar and color questions during scoping. A review cycle discovered after a crew has mobilized is far more expensive than the same conversation held early.
When Is The Best Time Of Year To Schedule Exterior Restoration In Massachusetts?
Sealants, coatings and mortar have minimum application temperatures, so the practical construction window runs from roughly April into early November. Investigation, engineering and scoping can happen any time of year. Starting the investigation over the winter is what makes a full season of production possible rather than losing half of it to scoping once the weather turns.
Secure Your Massachusetts Property
Tell us what the building is doing and we will tell you what it needs.