Case study · Commercial building

A three-year-old water wall, rebuilt properly.

Tiles were falling off a commercial water wall that a non-qualified contractor had installed only three years earlier. We stripped the failed systems and rebuilt the tile, copings and finishes.

Discuss a restoration

Restoration services

The restored York Mills water wall three years later, still looking good with limited maintenance — 80-100 York Mills water wall, three years after restoration

Client: 80-100 York Mills
Feature: Tiled commercial water wall
Age when repaired: Three years
Scope: Tile, backer board, copings, pump repairs

What was wrong, and what we did.

The water wall was only three years old, but tiles were falling off because the wrong materials had been used behind them. The tiles and backer board had failed, rust ran through the feature, and stainless steel flashing had been added to hide the failures. Earlier contractors had also sprayed muriatic acid on the steel support beams, damaging the paint and the copper spray bar and leaving rust and calcium on the granite wall.

We removed every failed system, repaired the structure so the old and new tile could transition properly, and took off the copings and re-mortared them. They had not been bonded properly and were a danger to the public. A new cement board and tile system went on, and we filled and tested the wall, making small pump and mechanical repairs at the same time. Three years later it still looks good and runs with little maintenance.

The work