Minton Tile Repair in New York's Central Park

Project: Manhattan Remodel and Cape Cod Affordable, Episode 15, Part 3



Bob is at the Manhattan Brownstone, where work is underway in the bathroom to hang wall tile and set up the pedestal sink. Bob meets Rob Shedrofsky of Davinci Stone, suppliers of the Porcelanosa glazed clay tile that is being applied to the walls. This Subway tile gives a sleek, urban look to the bathroom. Permanent pipe fittings are put in place, and the anchors are marked and set in the wall before Mario Taormina from N. Pagano Plumbing installs the Toto pedestal sink and faucet. The faucet, handles, drain, spindles and diverter are attached, and a code-specified P-trap is set in place to carry waste water from the sink and prevent sewer-gas backup. Bob then visits a $3.5 million Minton tile restoration at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. The 49 original tile panels were deteriorating structurally and had to be removed in the 1980s. These panels are comprised of 16,000 individual tiles. They will be restored, backed with stainless steel, and returned to their original spot on the vaulted brick ceilings under the terrace.
Part 1: Applying Glazed Wall Tile in the Bathroom
Part 2: Installing a Pedestal Sink
Part 3: Minton Tile Repair in New York's Central Park
Bob visits the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park with Doug Blonsky of the Central Park Conservancy. The carved sandstone structure is maintained by on-staff conservators who clean the sandstone and repair it using the dutchman technique, where a deteriorated piece is cut out, refashioned, and replaced. They then visit the underside of the terrace where a brick ceiling was once covered with 49 Minton tile panels. In the 1980s, the Conservancy discovered that the panels were deteriorating structurally so they were removed and stored until restoration could take place. The $3.5 million restoration is now underway with two representative panels already in place and the other 47 being restored and refashioned with a stainless-steel frame to prevent future rust. Bob looks at a panel with Vice President of Operations Chris Nolan. The wrought-iron backing deteriorated over time, rust expanded and caused failure in the mechanical fasteners that held each of the 16,000 individual tiles to the metal backing. The project will remove the wrought iron backing from the tiles, assess damage to the tiles, and repair or replace those damaged piece before putting a new stainless-steel backing on each of the one-ton panels. The project is expected to take two years to complete.
This project deals with two very different notions of home. Bob begins on New York City's Upper West Side, where an 1890s Brownstone is revitalized through high-quality craftsmanship and sensitive design. New York's past meets its present, as the entire floor is recaptured and refurbished to create a spacious urban apartment on the doorstep of Central Park.

At the same time, Bob works with a Cape Cod developer to apply Massachusetts land use statute 40B to create affordable housing, and a neighborhood of homes in Mashpee, MA. These Energy Star certified homes show how quality building practices and reasonable asking prices can work together to provide livable, affordable homes and neighborhoods to those who work in our communities.

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