Sherwin Williams, Mack Ave. Grille Building to be Fixed This Week

After nearly a month, repairs are to begin this week on where the bricks fell from the side of the building early June 7.

Building Inspector Gene Tutag said he checked in with the owner of the building, a Grosse Pointe Farms resident, late last week. Repair crews are expected to begin work this week, Tutag said.

In the meantime, both businesses will remain closed until officials are able to ensure it is safe for people to be inside and even near the building. Tutag said officials have had to put tape up repeatedly as it has gotten blown down, taken down or even moved.

Tutag said the problem related to corroded ties that are used to secure the bricks to the cinder block base. The ties are flat pieces of metal that fit between the the cinder blocks and the bricks at the same time, providing struture to the bricklaying.

The ties, which were installed decades ago on the building, appear to have been corroded, generally indicating they were exposed to air, Tutag said. However, that would have been impossible until June 7 when the bricks tumbled off the building.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Tutag said there were some additives used in brick-laying mortar believed to cause such corrosion. This is the reason the building remains closed for both businesses, he said, saying the fear by officials is that the Mack Avenue-facing side of the building could be in a similar situation and at risk of losing its bricks as well. 

No one was injured in the collapse.

One of the businesses, had only been open a short time before having to close unexpectedly due to the problem.