1250 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL

Location:

1250 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL

Scope of work:

Brick Repair and Restoration, Masonry Cleaning, Masonry Reconstruction, Stone Replacement and Restoration

Project description:

This historic granite mansion in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood was originally constructed for Carl C. Heisen in 1890. This Chicago Landmark required extensive restoration over two years. The granite was carefully cleaned of atmospheric soiling. Tar was removed from the west elevation brick. Mortar was repointed 100% on the east elevation and partially on the west. On-site testing was undertaken to locate the original mortar behind layers of more modern material.

Once located, this material was matched in color, composition, and aggregate by our sister company U.S. Heritage Group, Inc. The original tooling profile on the granite joints was a bead profile. This bead joint was replicated only up to the second-floor line, as this was a client preference.

The front entry granite stair had settled over the years form an inadequate foundation. In addition, the stairs did not meet modern code requirements. Luckily, the stone treads and solid railing wall were sized so that they could be reused if configured differently. The stair and low height retaining wall were dismantled, new footing and foundations installed, and rebuild with the original stone. All stone was mapped and tagged prior to removal to insure that each unit was laid in its original location. The retaining wall running east west was missing and stone was fabricated to match the original segments.