It’s hard to call it work when

you are in Bermuda, particularly when it’s blizzard conditions and flooding back home, but, someone has to do it. Of course everyone associated with our company has become somewhat used to traveling around to different places from time to time when it comes to work. Our employees

The Marriott Castle Harbour Resort. CSCI has been conducting business in Bermuda since 1990 exclusively in the building restoration service industry. This venture has been very successful from the onset. CSCI-Bermuda was formed in 1992 and has since had the service contracts with many of the International Banks, and resort hotels, and Bermudian Government facilities providing various periodic maintenances including caulking, surface restoration, power washing and glass restoration & cleaning for these many and diverse properties on the Island.

from Texas work in Maryland to help on jobs there and vice versa. However, the jobs all of our employees like are the ones in Bermuda, especially the larger ones that will keep them there for longer periods. Such is the case with the restoration of a very fine resort hotel in Bermuda which we are currently working- -

During and after Hurricane Felix we found ourselves – Tom Donaghy, a partner from Houston, and myself- with nothing to do except lend a hand from time to time during the emergency. Many of the trees around the resort where we were staying were toppled or pushed over revealing or pushed over revealing numerous building areas that were discolored due to algae, mold, and mildew and so on. As we discovered these areas, we brought them to the attention of the resort’s general manager explaining to him that we could abate all of those problem areas if he was interested.

Hurricane Felix The current project that is occupying much of our time came about during one of our quarterly visits to the island back in September of 1995. I arrived two days prior to Hurricane Felix’s attack where I remained throughout the storm and several days afterward.

He was enthralled and immediately began to direct us toward another part of the resort that had the same predicament. Believe me, the more we looked, the more we found. After a couple of days looking we found that practically the entire resort hotel area needed to be treated. After demonstrating our services and agreeing on the amount we started the

restoration job. It is always difficult working outside the U.S. because in most cases overseas shipment is a major concern. From Baltimore, we had to export all of the rigging equipment, chemicals, power washers, and other accessories, tools and so forth. This was a major task to complete in such a

short period. This also included updating employee working papers for the Bermuda government. We have three Bermudian full-time employees who usually handle all of the work. However, our employees from Texas and Maryland have to travel to the islands whenever we take on a new task that the Bermudian company has not yet covered, such as the case regarding this contract. Our U.S. employees did not go to Bermuda to finish the contract as much as they were there to instruct their Bermudan counterparts on many nuances to the trade.

This includes the rigging equipment, swing stage set up, power washer setup and uses, chemical treatments and stone preparation. I had a consultant, Tom Darragh from GPS, come to Bermuda to examine the property to see if he had any suggestions regarding the different stone surfaces. I believe in all cases it is prudent to have a consultant make further recommendations for future references and possible preservations. Cleaning Procedures Since our contract originally covered just the removal of the mildew, mold and algae, I thought it would be wise to extend the contract to cover additional services that should be covered at the completion of the cleaning. The building has had point work done around various locations causing spots of acid washed stone to stand out among the natural looking stone. We will apply a

plastered concrete surfaces to crack and chip. Water is a key ingredient to this type of application, but only the water, not the pressure. The pressure of our machines will deliver approximately 3500 psi in normal uses but we have reduced it to around 800 psi for the protection of the building structures. We also use a caster-mounted rotary Hydro-Twister to clean the flat surfaces around the pools and entrances as well as the walkways and garden ways. The castle has areas of stone around a chimney that are black due to soot from an oil burning water heater. This stone will be cleaned with Klenztone #1 and a Concrete Stone Preparer. These chemicals are also ideal for the removal of stains in the stone. The castle is made up of quarried indigenous limestone from England, concrete block with an exterior plastering, cement, various tiles and cedar and redwood dividers around, first in

This contract covers the removal of all algae, mold, mildew attached to the exterior of the buildings. The tourist season in Bermuda is different from the rest of the Caribbean islands; Bermudas’ season begins in April and ends in early October. This winter schedule gives us the right amount of time to complete the castle cleaning prior to its opening. However the hydra-sealing may take some time due to the increased winter weather which is always around the mid to upper 60’s and occasionally raining. We’ll need several good dry weeks to finish the hydra-seal and preservative applications to the wood surfaces. This will probably cause our contract to be extended into May. At present, we have completed about one-half the resort cleaning and have imported all the materials needed to complete the tasks, save any unforeseen necessity, which is usually the case. We find ourselves losing time in most

hydra-seal with a fungicide and pigment to keep the various growths from coming back and to blend all the stone together so they will look uniform. We’ll use a fungicide to do the first cleaning around the property and power wash the surfaces after treatment to remove any dead growth buildup from the surfaces. The machines we use to power wash have 13 hp Honda engines with AR pumps at four gpm. We use a 40 degree nozzle with a large orifice to decrease the water pressure and allow water flow for a good rinse. High pressure is not used to clean this stone as it may cause degradation and provoke the

Tee-side, England where it was marked, dismantled and shipped to the current Tuckers Town site. This great venture began after World War I and was finished in 1931. The Castle Harbour was touted as the premier resort catering to the rich and famous. During World War II, it was turned over to the United States Government for use as accommodations for US troops. In 1958, Bermuda Properties bought the Castle and further developed it until 1984 when Marriott Hotels and resorts negotiated a long term lease. The project began in mid-December 1995 and should be completed by April 1996.

instances when something breaks or we need replacement parts to items. Since our only avenue of salvation is to turn back toward the U.S. for help and restocking, I remain in the states awaiting a telephone call for just that. I’ll quickly round up the material and ship it the same day by way of air freight so that down time is minimal. Every two weeks to once each month, I will make a personal visit to Bermuda to ensure that things are still proceeding smoothly.