Birmingham City Hall

Project History

Birmingham City Hall was designed by noted Michigan architect Marcus Robinson Burrowes. Deicing salts caused the deterioration of existing limestone at the foundation, the marred perimeter stones were at eye-level height and obvious to pedestrians. Some stones required substantial restoration and others only minor surface treatment. Furthermore, the limestone had a bush hammer texture that needed to be recreated. Matrix, a trowel applied cement-based repair mortar that is also resistant to deicing salts, was selected as the material for the deeper patchwork. The contractor color matched Matrix to the original limestone. Deteriorated sections were cut out, removed, and repaired with the customized Matrix. MIMIC TR, a brush applied cementitious repair mortar designed for thin repairs, was used where the removal of stone was not necessary. Both Matrix and MIMIC TR were ingeniously textured with a hair pick to replicate the sought-after bush hammer effect and blended the old with the new.