The Challenge:

In New Orleans, the Pontalba Apartments are the oldest apartment buildings in North America and they bracket the world famous Jackson Square and set its architectural tone. The combination of street level shops with upstairs apartments still function as they did when the Baroness Pontalba financed their design and construction 150 years ago.

Owned by the State of Louisiana, this historic landmark needed major renovations including abatement of lead-based paint in the lower hallways. The conditions found in the narrow lower hallways included multiple coats of cracking and peeling lead-based paint over plaster walls that were in a highly deteriorated condition. The fragile condition of the surfaces ruled out any type of invasive or abrasive removal methods. In addition, the building had to remain open and accessible 24 hours a day to tenants and the multitude of daily occupants.

Benefits desired:
• GREEN and Environmentally Advanced Solution
• Little to No Disturbance of the Historically Significant Surfaces
• Little to No Generation of Hazardous Waste
• 24 Hour Access to Occupants
• Class A Fire Rating
• Highly Impact and Abuse Resistant
• Breathable - Allowing for Moisture Vapor Transmission
• 20 Year Warranty on Labor and Materials

Results:

GLOBAL Encasement, Inc. provided all of the desired benefits resulting in aesthetically pleasing, highly abuse and impact resistant surfaces. The custom designed LeadLock™ TopCoat System chosen included PrepLESS Primer™ to lock down any loose, peeling, flaking paint; GEI Globe Caulk to fill holes, bridge cracks, voids and rough edges; and LeadLock™ TopCoat custom tinted to a light gray.

You can also view the case history of this article (CH#021 - Pontalba Apartments ) and hundreds of others at our website case history section: http://www.encasement.com/cases. To contact Global Encasement, Inc, you can reach out via their website at www.ENCASEMENT.com, via phone at 800-266-3982, or email at gck@encasement.com.