Western Waterproofing Company
Portland, OR
Brendon Beltz — Branch Manager
(503) 239-7075
brendonb@westernwaterproofing.com

Built in the early 1980’s by the city of Portland, the Portland Building is constructed of cast-in-place concrete. Water infiltration had long plagued the property, leading the city to contract with McBride Architects for a comprehensive building forensics study. McBride traced the 15-story structure's moisture issues to construction defects, and particularly the expansion joints of the many window units.

Western was hired by the city to correct problem areas on the building's southern face. Their scope of work included removal of glass from affected windows, reinforcement of anchorages and recaulking of all units. Western was also to seal cracks in the concrete and apply an elastomeric wall coating to exterior surfaces of the building.

The new window-anchoring system employed called for floor-by-floor variations. Where windows on one floor were re-anchored with windload clips that allow the entire unit to move slightly, those on the adjacent floor were re-anchored with deadload clips, allowing no movement. In some areas, wall panels ten feet wide and five feet high had to be removed to complete the task.

Western's work-and its ability to meet budget constraints-clearly met with city approval. The decision was made, in-progress, to perform the same corrections on the building's northern elevation.

Launched in the fall of 1998, the $325,000 project was completed in the summer of 1999.