X-Bond in Fashion Designers' Luxury Hollywood Residence

Projects

9 Oct

From covering immense slab walls to correcting sloping roof decks, see how X-Bond Microcement helped transform fashion designer's beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills.

Summary

When internationally famous New York fashion designer purchased a new home off Sunset Boulevard, high in the fashionable Hollywood Hills, some aspects of the home didn't meet his high standards; namely, its stone floors and exterior walls. Seeking a more modern look for his contemporary residence, the renowned designer turned to X-Bond.

Existing travertine floor tiles

Existing black granite shower tiles

Existing granite exterior walls

Exploring Alternatives

The home featured two expansive walls made of black absolute granite — an expensive material — and travertine stone, neither of which met the designer's conceptual vision. His first thought was to use grey concrete, but this option was not feasible due to the product's thickness.

Complete demolition was another option, but a costly and time-consuming one, requiring the following:

Architectural/engineering drawings for permits (estimated time 10 days)
Check approval (up to 2-3 weeks)
Stone removal (estimated 2 weeks)
Stud replacement (estimated 3 weeks) as needed
Cement board installation (estimated 1 week)
Waterproof membrane installation (estimated 4 days)
Stone installation (estimated 2 weeks)
Inspections, municipal approval, HOA approval (3-5 weeks)
Constraints of removal of demolition debris due to location of property on narrow winding mountain road.

With a projected demolition timeline of 12-15 weeks, this option was quickly abandoned.

Strategy

The engineers faced three main challenges with this residential renovation:

Challenge 1: Creating a consistent surface on immense 25 foot walls

Solution: Using a scaffolding with three men on top, three in the middle, and three on the bottom allowed the applicators to apply smooth, even coats of X-Bond.

xbond microcement exterior wall application

Challenge 2: Creating a solution for the silicon-caulked wall seams

Solution: When the sun hit the walls, the silicone seams got warmed and expanded, creating a vein-like appearance. To remedy the problem, the silicone was cut out and filled with X-Bond Microcement.

resurfacing walls with microcement — *Resurfacing exterior walls with X-Bond*

Challenge 3: Leveling a sloped floor

Solution: To correct significant sloping in the floor surfaces, the X-Bond system was used to bring the floor up by four inches, while ensuring a secure molecular bond to the existing slab.

Solution

A total of 1,200 square meters of X-Bond Microcement was installed throughout the designer's home, including to the exterior granite walls, the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, living room, hallways, pool deck, house exterior, and white marble bathroom. The applicators also ground down improperly sloped roof deck drains and built them up using X-Bond, ensuring proper water flow.

Not only has the fashion designer since added X-Bond to two downstairs baths and a downstairs kitchen he has also inspired several celebrity friends and close family members to choose X-Bond for their surface and remodelling projects.