Diary of a historic preservation contractor
Every so often, when describing the places our work takes us, and the challenging projects we get involved with, somebody says, "You should write a book about this stuff." Well, I don't know about a book, but it just might be the right thing for a blog. So here goes nothing...
Last week we ran around the Boston area a good bit. At the beginning of the week, we were in the Cottage Farm Historic District, working on one of the fine homes there. The fir gutters had failed and were in need of replacement. New gutters matched the existing profile, as did the moulding detail below it ... a MUST in historic preservation work ... also known as "in kind" replacement. To deter rot, we lined the gutters with heavy sheet lead, folding and soldering the seams and outlets.
Then it was up to Haverhill, for a day of slate roof repairs on the Unitarian Universalist Church. A repeat customer, it was more replacement of broken and missing slates with our supply of salvaged, Monson, Maine, slates. Yep, there it is again, "in kind" replacement .... those are the preservation buzz words. The brick facade on the north side has some moisture issues, so a sheenless treatment of water repellent was applied ... repellents are oil based and ok for masonry, unlike sealers which are silicone based and bad news.
Then it was back to Brookline for more wood rot replacement and paint work ... and thats where we will be at the beginning of the coming week. Except me--I will head to Rhode Island on Monday. We have been contracted by the State of RI to assess the condition of three slate roofs on buildings in Cranston. By Wednesday we will be on a slate roof in Columbia County, NY, for a day of repairs before our next project in Hudson, NY, which I will describe in the next segment. OldeMohawk
