328 Essex St ReportDavid M. Hart Enterprises
104 Federal Street • Salem, Massachusetts 01970 • 978.745.2172
davidatsalem@comcast.net fax: 978.740.0085
www.dmharchitects.com
June 8, 2016
Patti Kelleher
Salem City Hall Planning
120 Washington Street
Salem MA 01970
RE: Report on site visit to 328 Essex St., Salem Mass. June 7, 2016.
Dear Patti: Below is my report. See also the graphic 328 Essex St.pdf.
The building is brick bearing wall construction reportedly constructed in 1823. A close
inspection indicates that in all probability the majority of the masonry is of the original
construction, exhibiting relatively uniform thin mortar joints, rather uniformly eroded
back about a quarter of an inch. There has been a minor amount of repointing with a hard
cement mortar rather white in color and brought out about flush with the face of the
brick. The majority of the mortar appears to be a rather soft lime based mortar which is
for the most part intact. The brick itself is relatively clean, and the original mortar joints
have a slight amount mount of soiling on the surface.
My recommendations are following:
Façade masonry cleaning. Since the surface areas are relatively clean, I would not
recommend cleaning the masonry. However if it is so desired, the use of Prosoco Sure
Klean heavy-duty restoration cleaner appropriately diluted, would seem to be the best
choice.
Repointing. It is understood that there are a few small areas exhibiting voids that are
desired to be reported. I would recommend a type K mortar:
“This uses a 1 / 3 / 10 mix (white cement, hydrated lime and sand) and results in a mortar
with but a 75 psi compressive strength. Type K is useful only in historic preservation
situations where load bearing strength is not of importance and the porous qualities of
this mortar allows very little movement due to temperature and moisture fluctuations.
This aids in prolonging the integrity of the old or even ancient bricks in historic
structures.”
Normally after placing the mortar, a Prosoco Sure Klean 600 acid wash is normally used
to expose the aggregate. In this case I am not sure since the areas to be repaired are so
small, this is necessary.
In terms of applying a sealer to the masonry I would not recommending using any sealer,
as unless there is a significant amount of moisture penetration to the interior a sealer is
not necessary, and even if it was applied, it would have to be reapplied every 6 to 10
years. Current practice does not recommend applying a sealer unless absolutely
necessary.
Publications that deal with the issues of masonry repairs and repointing include the
National Park Services’
Preservation Brief No. 1 Cleaning and Water-Repellent Treatments for Historic
Masonry Buildings
Preservation Brief No. 2 Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings
These can be found on the internet at https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs or
just Google “preservation briefs”.
Sincerely,
David M. Hart, AIA