Construction on a 50-Story Office Tower in New York City

Construction of 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City

We are excited to share that we have been awarded a multimillion-dollar marble contract for our most recent project with the CommonWealth Partners’ property in the lobby of their 50-story office at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City.

787 Seventh Avenue in New York City houses an athletic club, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a parking garage, two restaurants, and offers direct access to transportation. Our contract consists of removing and salvaging stone benches, planters, and lighting, known as Flanagan Sculpture. We are drafting, supplying, and installing over 20,000 square feet of Avorio Limestone, Calacatta Marble, Absolute Black Granite, Porcelain, Ceramic Tile, and Silestone. This project is estimated to be completed by the second quarter of 2021.

6 Types of Stone Commonly Used for Projects

Variety of stonesThere are countless types of stone that can be used as materials for building. Each stone is unique, not all stones are equal, and some perform better when you use it for materials. At Petrillo Stone, we commonly use 6 materials in our projects:

  1. Basalt: This stone is between medium and fine grain. It’s dark-colored and composed of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. This stone is commonly used to build roads, bridge piers, dams, river walls, and statues.
  2. Granite: Granite has a crystalline structure, and the grain can range from fine to course. It’s mostly made up of quartz and feldspar, with a little bit of mica and amphibole. Granite is used in buildings, bridges, paving, and monuments. Indoors, it can be used for tile floors, stair treads, and countertops.
  3. Sandstone: Sandstone is commonly combined with silica cement, and this mix is used to build heavy, solid structures. It’s made up of sand grains and a mix of silt or clay particles to occupy the space between the sand grains.
  4. Limestone: We commonly use limestone although not all limestone is usable. Certain varieties have high clay content making them non-durable. But, limestone is compact and dense which makes it great for building materials for floors, roofs, and pavements. Salty air can abrade it, so it’s best not to use it in coastal areas.
  5. Slate: Slate is made of quartz, clay minerals, and mica. It is extremely fine-grained and is used to make roofing tiles and pavers.
  6. Marble: Marble is known to be strong, uniform, imperious, and polishes beautifully. It’s made out of crystallized carbonate minerals. It’s easily carved, hence all the ancient statues carved in marble.

Our Response to COVID-19: Our Services Remain Available

We hope that you and your family are staying safe and well during this hectic time. The team at Petrillo Stone is maintaining a 6-foot distance and keeping our hands clean.

In this scary and confusing time, we wanted to update our clients and let them know that we are still taking jobs. In order to keep our workers and customers safe, we are running only skeleton crews. In addition, we’ve been thoroughly sanitizing the touch surfaces on all of our equipment and vehicles.

We realize this is an evolving situation, and we’re keeping an eye on it every day.

Limestone carving by Petrillo Stone

Limestone Carvings of Ignatius Loyola

As part of our contract with Fordham University, we finished up these limestone carvings depicting Ignatius Loyola’s life.

To create these carvings, we used Indiana Limestone and the original molds from the 1950’s.

The finished carvings can be found in their home at a monastery in Shrub Oak, NY. Ralph Petrillo is pictured standing next to the last carving.

St. Regis Hotel

Restoring the New York Saint Regis Hotel

We were excited to take on this restoration project at the St. Regis hotel in New York City. The Regis is a chain of luxury hotels that was started in New York in 1904 by American businessman John Jacob “Jack” Astor IV.

The St. Regis of NYC is a 5-Star hotel overlooking 5th Avenue in Manhattan. It’s home to the famous King Cole Bar, where you can order their signature drink, the Red Snapper. One of the most coveted amenities of the hotel is their butler service. Each guest is assigned a butler who can accommodate anything they want, from ironing their suits, to digging up personalized reading material.

We wish we could have stayed at the Regis just a little longer…

Learn more about the St. Regis of NYC.

Restoring an Interior Wall at the Gucci Store in NYC

Interior Wall of the Gucci Store Restored by Petrillo Stone

We recently restored this interior wall of one of the Gucci stores in NYC. We were excited for the chance to work with one of the most successful luxury fashion brands in history.

Guccio Gucci was an Italian immigrant working at the Savoy Hotel in London. While working there, he was inspired by the high-end leather luggage that some of the guests brought with them. He visited the plant that produced many of the goods, H. J. Crave & Sons.

Later, he traveled back to his hometown in Florence, Italy to start his own luxury handbag and luggage company, which remains today as one of the leading luxury fashion houses. The word “Gucci” has become synonymous with quality ever since Lenny Kravitz described his bedroom as “very Gucci” in a 1999 article in Harpers Bazaar.

Philadelphia City Hall

Philadelphia City Hall: One of Our Favorite Masonry Buildings is Also the Tallest Traditional Masonry Building in the World

Traditional masonry is rare. Chances are that when you see a stone or brick building, there is a steel frame underneath that’s doing most of the heavy lifting. In the days before steel, all those heavy materials were supported by thick, load-bearing walls.

When it was built in 1901, Philadelphia City Hall was the tallest skyscraper in the world, the first non-religious building to hold the title. At 548 feet high, it remains the world’s tallest load-bearing building.

The load-bearing walls of this architectural wonder are 22 feet thick in some places, allowing them to support the heavy masonry work above. Construction took 30 years to complete and cost a total of 24 million dollars. After its construction, no architect had the desire to attempt such an ambitious project.

Philadelphia’s City Hall remains one of the most impressive buildings we’ve seen.

Egyptian Pyramids

The Oldest Building Techniques are Also Best for the Environment

The Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt were built about 4,500 years ago, but they’re still standing tall and strong.

Like many older buildings, the pyramids were built to last as long as possible, but today, that isn’t always our biggest priority. However, it should be! In addition to saving time and money, building structures with longevity in mind is easier on the environment.

In particular, masonry is an environmentally-friendly method for building. Building with brick and stone is one of the oldest building techniques there is, yet the durability makes it excellent for reducing environmental impact.

A Long-Lasting Material

Masonry’s durability results in a low annual environmental impact that improves over time. To begin with, shipping the materials typically requires less fuel. Since the materials are heavy, there are manufacturing plants near most major cities.

When you think about sustainability, you have to think long-term, which means considering what happens to the building when it’s no longer in use. Bricks can be crushed into a powder that can be repurposed into useful materials. This procedure involves no toxins, no waste, and no landfill.

Seal Moisture Out of Walls

Masonry makes a great building material because it seals moisture out while allowing it to escape. Many modern walls trap moisture inside the wall, which can lead to mold and mildew. In fact, trapped moisture is believed to be one of the causes of “sick building syndrome,” a phenomenon in which people get ill more often when confined together inside a building.

The idea that newer is always better is a common misconception. Oftentimes, techniques that have been around for hundreds or thousands of years are also the best. Click here to read more about this topic on the Guardian.