Home Events January 2015 – Tackling Travertine Cladding Repairs – Al Bustamante

January 2015 – Tackling Travertine Cladding Repairs – Al Bustamante

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A reliable repair approach to evaluate and repair distressed thin travertine stone panels on a 30+ year old buildings, and at the same time minimize the possible negative aesthetic impact, from the repairs, on the building exterior wall present many different challenges for design professionals. The presenter will discuss two different case studies of buildings with dimension travertine stone cladding that experienced some type of distress. For each case study the presenter will discuss the evaluation, design, repairs, and construction phase engineering services that were performed.

The travertine exterior wall panels on these building presented distresses such as cracking and spalling. A comprehensive evaluation of the exterior wall consisting of field observations, laboratory testing, and structural calculations was performed to understand the condition of the travertine exterior wall panels, design repairs, and create a stone selection criteria required to maintain the original appearance of the building.

Mr. Bustamante is a Restoration Consultant with Walker Restoration Consultants. He received his bachelors in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA and M.S. in engineering with structural engineering emphasis from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. He has over 13 years of experience as a project manager in a variety of structural, architectural, and material distress related projects. His experience includes the evaluation, design, and construction phase services of many building exterior wall repair projects. Mr. Bustamante is the President of the Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter of SEAoT.

As well as a member of the Precast/Presstressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Parking Structures Committee, the American Concrete Institute (ACI), and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). He is also chair of the Foundation Performance Association (FPA) Concrete Slab Moisture SC-19 sub-committee.