Doing some repairs on a building in downtown Portland.
Original construction allowed water to get between the detail and the substrate causing the sheetrock to deteriorate. The substrate was just a regular gypsum drywall, which completely deteriorates once it gets wet. The details started falling off the wall…
Current construction standards require a flashing cap, because the tops are too flat allowing water to backflow. What is interesting is that we observe a lot of problems like that in construction completed in the 90s when caulking was used as “fix all” and “hold all” solution. Buildings built in the 80s are still standing.
We’ll need to restore the details and re-attach them to the walls.
