Texas Bank Facade Gets Natural-Stone Makeover
ST. LOUIS – When San Antonio-based Broadway Bank says, “We’re here for good,” they mean it – and underwrote that pledge with more than 51,000 lbs of natural stone.
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In a display of commitment to their community, the bank owners embarked on a major project to preserve and restore their iconic bank building at the corner of Nacogdoches and Loop 410.
The building’s 46-year-old natural-stone quartz and marble exterior had become cracked, damaged and weathered with time, so Broadway Bank‘s owners turned to Western Specialty Contractors (formerly named Western Waterproofing Company) to return the façade to its original luster.
Western crews were charged with removing sealants in all of the building’s exterior joints and replacing them with new silicone sealants, plus removing all of the building’s worn exterior quartz tiles and replacing them with new ones. It was vital to the success of the project that the new quartz tiles match the facade of the bank’s adjacent high-rise administration building.
The bank’s owners had quartz tile from the Himalayas installed on the administration building when it was constructed to closely match the existing bank building. Three years later, the owners decided to replace all of the exterior tiles on the original building with tiles to match the new administration building.
Western Specialty Contractors located and used the same quarry where the bank had ordered quartz tiles for the administration building three years ago.
Each quartz tile was cut into 2.5″ x 8″ pieces, adhered onto CMU walls with LATICRETE thin-set, and then grouted. Western crews installed 14,796 ft² of quartz tiles, weighing approximately 51,446 pounds total on the building’s facade.
Western crews completed the job by chemically cleaning and pressure washing all of the bank’s exterior marble panels to a like-new appearance, while all of the exterior windows were resealed using silicone caulking.
The general contractor on the project was Malitz Construction and the architect was Garza Bomberger & Associates, both of San Antonio.
Family-owned and operated for 100 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing and specialty roofing. Western is headquartered in St. Louis, MO with over 30 branch offices nationwide and employs more than 1,200 salaried and hourly professionals.
For more information about Western Specialty Contractors, visit www.westernspecialtycontractors.com.
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