In 1974, TowerHouse debuted as one of Miami Beach’s premier luxury condominiums. Situated on the Intracoastal Waterway with views both spectacular and serene of the city and the bay and boasting sprawling residences of over 3000 square feet, this striking building was immediately a coveted address. But over the years, time and water infiltration had taken their toll. The once-grand building was looking a little rough around the edges.

“It had faced water intrusion problems for the life-span of the building. They’d been doing patching as they went,” said TowerHouse Owner’s Rep Lenny Loscalzo. In 2018, a massive restoration project sought to replace existing stucco on most of the exterior walls which had become delaminated due to water infiltration. Additionally, major structural and waterproofing deficiencies at the intersection of the original concrete slab and concrete masonry block exterior walls needed to be corrected. In 2011, when the building needed to be painted, the Association had used StoColor Lotusan coating because of its longevity and self-cleaning Lotus-Effect® technology. When it came time for this restoration, they turned to Sto again.

But this project needed much more than just paint. “There was never any question that we would use Sto products,” explained Loscalzo, “There was water intrusion at every floor. We needed a long-term solution.” After surveying the situation, the Project Engineer, the Project Management firm, and the Contractor, in consultation with Sto Corp., determined a course of action to correct the significant existing problems and restore the TowerHouse facade. A variety of Sto products would be used in conjunction to create a watertight barrier and restore the facade: Sto Watertight Coat with Mesh, Sto Wall Leveler and Patch, Sto RFP with embedded Sto Mesh (Sto Crack Defense) and StoColor Lotusan coating.

The first step was to create a waterproof base coat at the intersection of the slab and CMU walls. This was accomplished with Sto Watertight Coat embedded with Mesh. Once that was done, Sto Wall Leveler and Patch was used to build out the exterior walls and establish a stable base. Next, Powerwall Stucco was applied over the Wall Leveler and Patch.

To assure a uniform facade and prevent cracking in the areas that did not require stucco removal, Sto Crack Defense using RFP with embedded Sto Mesh was applied over all the exterior wall surfaces leaving a smooth, paint-ready finish. And that brings us full circle. The final step involved application of StoPrime, followed by the Sto product that had originally won the TowerHouse Condo Association’s trust years before – StoColor Lotusan Coating in white with gray accents.

The project is well underway and scheduled to be complete in 2021 and the Association has expressed their appreciation of the quality of the Sto materials. “We’ve already faced some severe storms this year,” explained Loscalzo. “And there’s been no problems whatsoever. No water intrusions.” After almost 50 years of leaks, it’s fair to say that making TowerHouse water-tight is a towering achievement.