TO THE RESCUE

This much-treasured building on Bethlehem Pike in Whitemarsh Township was declared "Unfit for Habitation" last year. The builder, John Eichenlaub, a master custom home builder in the area, made his foray into commercial construction as the building's new owner, and together we examined, repaired, replaced and reinforced the building square foot by square foot. With a new elevator servicing the office floors above ground and a fine restaurant on the ground floor, The 424 Building will soon be restored to its proper place as a high-end landmark.

The job is a graphic example of what happens to a building when it's not understood by its owners and changes are undertaken without professional advice. About 50 years ago, when the stucco began to crack, the owners apparently decided to get rid of the Old Boring Stucco and expose the Lovely Stone.

The Lovely Stone is sand-stacked native stone, very flaky and porous, and the Old Boring Stucco is what was holding it together and protecting it from water damage, to which this very porous and flaky stone is highly vulnerable. The result? Dissolved internal mortar, cracking, shifting, and failing stones, and rotting timbers.

So now the roof and floor framing is replaced or reinforced, the stone has been dried out and a thick new protective stucco finish is installed. The foundations have been wrapped in new concrete where necessary to bind the stone, prevent shifting, and give us a strong base for anchoring new framing. Better than new.

And it'll be good looking, too.