Location

Brooklyn, NY

Services

Conditions Assessment

Materials Analysis

Conservation Treatments

Documentation

Field & Lab Testing

Materials

Brick

Cast Stone

Awards

2016 New York Landmarks Conservancy Lucy G. Moses Award

In 1873, the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company built offices to serve as an advertisement for the company’s cast stone products.  The company was at the forefront of the industrialization of concrete and this may be the earliest cast stone or even concrete building in the country.

A thorough conditions assessment of the building determined that the cast stone was a veneer attached with stone anchors to a brick backup wall.  The backup wall was collapsing.  JBC studied the concrete and mortar to identify their composition and modes of deterioration to help design appropriate repairs.  The particular Portland cement used for the Coignet Building’s cast stone was determined to be a pre-rotary kiln cement with a chemical composition of European Portland cements.  It is possible that this building may be the only surviving example of the use of European Portland cement in the United States.  Many of the huge cast stone blocks on the building were in repairable condition due to the Beton-Coignet fabrication process.  A few blocks were damaged beyond repair and had to be re-fabricated.  

The masonry contractor, Stone and Lime, helped save the building from collapse. Under JBC’s supervision, they gently removed a faux brick veneer stucco that covered much of the facades. They dismantled the top portion of the building to stabilize the back-up wall, fabricated new blocks to match the originals, and undertook extensive time consuming repairs. The patches were done using Portland cement and very fine aggregate to match the surface texture of the stone blocks.  The entire building was coated with a protective limewash that helped give the building a uniform appearance.