London Terrace Gardens

London Terrace Gardens is a 10-building complex located in Chelsea. The buildings were in a state of disrepair with several cited as Unsafe due to materials falling from the façade. Extensive façade and roof leaks were reported and believed to be caused by deteriorated masonry and mortar joints. The building’s ownership wanted to treat these buildings, although outside of the current Chelsea Historic District, as if they were landmarked. As such, considerable work was dedicated to product selection and restoration procedures.

Much of the original terracotta stone work had begun to fail and large sections required replacement. Approximately 80% of the street-facing and 38% of the courtyard lintels were replaced. All of the steel at the water tank bulkheads was fully restored and deteriorated sections of structural steel were replaced. Approximately 40% of the façades were repointed and all terracotta was cleaned and coated to match the original color. Three blends of brick were used to match as closely as possible the existing masonry throughout. Custom color-matched mortar was used for all new pointing and brick replacement. Terracotta stones were replaced with new precast stones and coated to match the original existing terracotta.