The most widespread structures are masonry constructions. These buildings have various functions, from residential houses to hospitals, schools or historic buildings. Because of the low resistance, ductility and low deformation capacity, masonry structures generally have an inappropriate behavior to different actions, especially seismic.  Being rigid and heavy, these structures are subjected to considerable forces.

In order to keep your building robust, it is good to heed the advice of Connecticut masonry experts. In general, they refer to the best and most innovative solutions for strengthening structures with masonry walls, but also to identify and eliminate as much as possible the causes that lead to the need to consolidate or renovate a building:

• the appearance of important damages to some elements of the resistance structure;
• increasing the loads that the construction or some parts of it have to cope with;
• execution malfunctions, which got worse in time, due to the exploitation of the construction or the use of construction materials of inappropriate quality;
• changes of the construction due to changes operated in the neighborhood (e.g., older buildings in large urban agglomerations, affected by new buildings raised between them).

When strengthening masonry structures, there are certain factors to be taken into account: the age of the construction, the type of masonry (natural stone or burnt/ unburned brick), the connection material between the masonry elements: dry masonry, mortars with binders (clay type, lime, cement mortar), the structural system (unreinforced masonry, reinforced masonry, confined masonry, etc.) and the type of foundations.

The value of an older building does not refer only to its external or interior appearance, but comprises the totality of its components as a result of the specific technology that has been used, as well as the place and time where and when it was made.

Masonry Restoration and rehabilitation become necessary when the structure of the building is affected and there are permanent cracks or deformations, resulting from strong stresses that led to overcoming the flexibility limits and to the appearance of deformations.

The rehabilitation of a masonry structure can be, in some cases, a labor-intensive process and must include:

• eliminating the causes that led to the degradation of materials
• improving the transmission of loads to the foundations
• linking adjacent vertical elements
• achieving the cooperation between the vertical structural elements
• avoiding changes in the structural system

Rehabilitation has as main objective the improvement of the structure, and can be done using compatible materials and reversible processes.

Things to keep in mind:

• Applying various consolidation methods using hidden elements has proven over time not to always be effective, achieving rather the preservation of the overall appearance of the building instead of its structure.
• Results of analyses carried out on old buildings rehabilitated using new techniques and material have led to the conclusion that the efficiency of modern techniques decreases with the passage of time, leading ssometimes to results with negative effects.

Concrete restoration has to do with more than just fixing cracks in your concrete driveway or walkway. It’s more about restoring your concrete installations to their former glory and even enhancing their appearance so they will look better than when they were first installed.

Depending on the level of restoration work and the masonry restoration Connecticut company you hire, Connecticut can be a great place for concrete restoration. You can get high quality work done without paying a lot of money, and your focus can be on multiple aspects of restoration work, including repair, finishing, restructuring and even moving the layout of your driveway.

The great thing about restoring your driveway or walkway in Connecticut is that the price difference between concrete restoration and installing everything anew is pretty significant. That means you will be far better off restoring your driveway than getting a new one.

The option of hiring a local company is the best one when it comes to concrete restoration, since it allows you to benefit from the local company’s experience and knowledge about the way that concrete installations react to local weather over time. As a result, their services involving concrete restoration in Connecticut will be without a doubt some of the best you’ve ever used.

Preserving old buildings may not only be good for business, but also historically significant. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy, and old masonry often has to be restored for the building to continue remaining strong in the face of future storms and stressors.

What needs to be considered from the start is that older buildings are often built on dated ideas about architecture and engineering. As such, some problems can’t be solved unless the entire building is torn down and rebuilt. That, of course, isn’t an option and masonry experts often have to get creative about how they approach the issue.

Hiring a masonry professional like New England Masonry and Restoration with knowledge and experience with historic building restoration is a good first step. Additionally, it’s a good idea to hire someone who knows all about working with materials such as concrete, cast stone, terracotta and brick. These are some of the most essential materials used over 100 years ago in construction.

Finally, external masonry walls have gone through many important changes throughout the past decades, which means that most inexperienced masons will not know a lot about the technologies used before that. Again, experience is very important here, and you’ll find it beneficial to ensure that the masonry experts you hire are seasoned enough to know all about old masonry methods involving steel anchors and lintels, dated sealants and steel structural elements used around the turn of the 20^th century.

Although masonry restoration can be a lengthy and difficult process, New England professionals usually make it look easy. By simply approaching them with the right questions before a big project, you can gain a remarkable amount of information and insight, and you’ll be able to make a more informed decision about what you really need.

Masonry restoration typically involves improving the integrity of old masonry or tearing down the old and rebuilding it using enhanced, modern masonry methods. The ratio of how much of the old building can be kept and how much needs to be replaced using new masonry can vary, and it’s a good place to start when it comes to asking New England masonry restoration experts about what your building truly needs.

It’s also good to inquire about different building types. What works for some buildings won’t work for others, and that’s an essential detail to remember going forward.

The “devil is in the details” as they say, so it’s also worth talking to them about details like how much material will be needed, how the material will be taken to the site and how long they expect the entire restoration work to last. There are also lengthy debates about whether or not masonry buildings should be sealed, and you’ll find that there are pros and cons on each side of the argument. Asking an expert about it can help you get a better perspective and perhaps make a more informed decision regarding your own building.