The Armbruster Company has provided engineering services for the restoration and preservation of the Biltmore’s main entrance esplanade and Library Terrace, for waterproofing of the below grade hallways, and for restoration of the Italian Garden’s reflecting pools.
The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, is a National Historic Landmark featuring America’s largest home and world class gardens. 1,100 men labored for six years to build the Estate in the 1890s. The Estate remains self-sufficient and its preservation is privately funded by the family-owned company. Curators, conservators and craftsmen on the Estate’s team work year-round to care for this exceptional property.
The pools in the Italian Garden are defined by ornamental copings created with cement stucco over brick walls. The pools’ restoration was designed by Mr. Armbruster to follow the historical construction methods and materials. However, six different plaster and stucco contractors decided they could not reproduce the shape of the copings accurately enough and declined to bid on the project. Mr. Armbruster then made profile gaging tools and trained the masons who were rebuilding the pools’ brick walls. The masons successfully “pulled” the coping profile in stucco.
