LANDMARK SERVICES · TERRA COTTA
Terra cotta restoration, starting with the anchors
We save the original units wherever we can, replace the rest to match and anchor them back to the building in stainless steel.
Terra cotta is the glazed, fired-clay ornament and cladding on thousands of New York buildings put up between the late 1800s and the 1930s. It fails from the inside: water reaches the steel anchors, they rust and expand, and the units crack. Banu pins the cracks, re-anchors loose units and patches the losses. Whatever is too far gone, we replace in new terra cotta or an approved substitute.
Where New York's terra cotta is
In FISP Cycle 9, among buildings that reported their wall materials, 33% of Manhattan buildings listed terra cotta. The Bronx came in at about 11%, Brooklyn at 6% and Queens at 1%.
Source: NYC Open Data, DOB NOW: Safety – Facades Compliance Filings. See the data →
What we deliver
-
Replacement as the last resort.
We pin, patch and re-anchor first. A unit comes off the building for good only when it can't be saved.
-
Stainless steel anchors.
Replacement anchors go in stainless, so the rust that cracked the unit has nothing left to work on.
-
Replacement units ordered early.
New terra cotta takes months to make. We order it at the start, before the lead time can hold up your schedule or keep your shed standing.
-
Hoisted and rigged by us.
The drops at the ornament, and lifts of new units up to 2,000 pounds, run under our own Special Rigger license.
Services and capabilities
01 Investigate
- Each unit sounded and inspected by hand
- Probes to check the anchors and backup masonry
- A unit-by-unit map: repair, re-anchor or replace
02 Restore
- Cracks pinned and stitched
- Losses patched with compatible repair mortars
- Loose units removed, re-anchored and reset
- Replacement units in new terra cotta, GFRC or cast stone, as approved
- Joints repointed or sealed where specified
- Glaze-compatible coatings where specified
03 Close out
- Documentation for your QEWI and for LPC
- A unit map marking every repair and replacement
- A maintenance plan for the joints and glaze
Questions about terra cotta
Why does terra cotta fail?
Terra cotta units are hollow clay shells held to the building with steel anchors. Once the glaze cracks or a joint opens, water gets inside. The anchors rust and expand, and the unit cracks or pops off the wall. Hard cement patches from earlier repairs often make it worse, because they hold the water in.
Can cracked terra cotta be saved?
Often, yes. We pin the cracks and patch small losses with a compatible repair mortar. Loose units come down, get re-anchored in stainless steel and go back in their place. Units that are badly broken or have lost their anchorage are replaced.
What's GFRC, and can it replace terra cotta?
Glass fiber reinforced concrete: a lighter cast material that can be molded to a terra cotta profile. It's common for large or ornamental replacement units because it weighs less and is quicker to produce. On a landmarked building, LPC decides whether a substitute material is acceptable.
How long do new terra cotta units take?
They're made to order from molds, so the lead time is measured in months. That's why we identify replacement units early and order them while repairs carry on elsewhere on the building.
Is terra cotta damage usually Unsafe?
Loose or cracked units high on a building often are, because pieces can fall. Terra cotta turns up in a lot of Manhattan FISP reports, and the time to fix it is the SWARMP stage, before a cracked unit becomes an Unsafe one.
Let's talk about your building
Seeing cracks or loose pieces in your ornament?
Send us photos of the ornament. If a unit looks ready to drop, put that at the top of your request. Making it safe comes first.
