Archive Record
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Metadata
Collection |
George Douglass |
Archive Number |
GDHRPT4 |
Title |
George Douglass House Restoration Report for the quarter ending December 31, 2018 |
Description |
The Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County, PA., Project ME Number 16709 George Douglass House Project work Accomplished October 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 All stable original plaster wall panels on 2d floor: remove non-period coatings and preserve plaster on original lath on several stable wall segments. Balance of this work to be completed in 1st and 2d quarters of 2019. See attached schedule of change orders and extra work accomplished during 4th quarter of 2018. Continuing plasterwork begun in the 3d quarter of 2018, the following significant progress was made in plastering [base coat] the exterior coved cornices on the primary façade and northern gable-end, and progressing with base coat and finish plaster on interior chamber and hallway walls on the 2d floor: Front right [NW, "best"] chamber (with corner fireplace): Stabilized plaster walls; all walling: removed unstable plaster from cracks [photo #1]; repaired cracks and gaps at wall intersections with lime plaster; repaired plaster around fireplace; infilled behind baseboard along front [SW] stone wall; Remove material from inside corners to stable margins; repaired with lime plaster. Scratch coated and brown coated interior stone wall along front of chamber. Removed rotted and unstable wood lath on exposed ceiling [photo # 64] and re-lathed with recycled hand split lath found in attic. Applied plaster washers where needed to mitigate de-lamination. This work will continue in 1st and 2d quarters of 2019 to finish plaster on restored walls. Front left [SW] chamber: Stabilized plaster walls; Remove unstable plaster in cracks; Repair all cracks with lime plaster. Infilled behind baseboard front [SW] wall; removed material from inside corner gaps to stable margins and repaired with lime plaster. Applied scratch coat and brown coat to stone wall between windows at front of chamber [photo #67]; Removed rotted and unstable wood lath from exposed ceiling; re-lathed with recycled hand split lath; Applied plaster washers where needed. This work will continue in 1st and 2d quarters of 2019 to finish plaster on restored walls. Rear right [NE] chamber Column infill: Applied wire lath over steel column and scratch coat, brown coat, and troweled finish coat to match original surface. Rear right [NE] chamber with fireplace: Applied plaster washers where needed to effectively mitigate de-lamination; installed wire lath over steel column and scratch coat, brown coat, and troweled finish coat to match original surface; opened cracks to stable margins and in-filled with lime plaster; performed plaster and lath repairs around fireplace; removed later paint down to original plaster on two walls above and below chair rail to accept new base coat and finish coat plaster; applied base coat plaster to two interior walls above and below chair rail; applied lime plaster troweled finish coat plaster to two walls above and below chair rail; stabilized and prepared ceiling damage for restoration with plaster over original, replaced, and restored hand-hewn lath. 2d-floor Hallway: Installed wire lath over steel column, scratch coat, brown coat, and finish coat to match original surface; open all wall and inside corner cracks to stable margins; repaired opened cracks with lime plaster; Re-lath ceiling damage and prepare for restoration and consolidation of sub-strate, and base and finish plastering. All new interior plaster applications were continuously heated to 50 degrees F. or above during critical cure-periods. Outside cove cornice: A.Front façade of 1765 structure: stabilize all salvageable intact plaster; removed rotted lath and re-lathed with hand split recycled lath; applied base ["scratch"] coat and brown coat. [photo #59, before and # 8, after]. B.North Gable-end [with date-plaque] Cove Cornice – Removed rotted lath and re-lathed with hand split recycled lath; stabilized salvageable loose plaster; restoration to be completed in spring, 2019. GEORGE DOUGLASS HOUSE: Approved Plasterwork Changes and Extra work Completed to 12/31/18 Project ME Number 16709 I.Front façade cove cornice-1765 original Structure: A.Removed all deteriorated lath and unstable plaster from façade coved cornice segment above front door to southern terminus of cornice. B.Preserved and re-contoured 11 original coved-bracket outlookers to accept hewn lath and adequate plaster thickness. C.Fabricated reduced-scale module [photo # 67] with hewn lath, coved brackets, and two alternative finish plaster coatings to match original texture, color tone, and aggregate granulation. D.Applied three sample finish coats [photo #75] on cove cornice lath for comparison to original in-situ plaster. II.2nd floor NE rear chamber: A.Infilled closed later-period doorway through partition; applied hewn wooden lath over planking [photo # 62]; applied scratch coat, brown coat, and finish coat above and below chair rail within closed doorway. Stabilized surrounding plaster. B.Applied base coat and finish coat to two walls above and below chair rail where crack repair had been previously attempted. C.Scraped paint off two wall segments down to original stable plaster to be preserved. III.2nd floor doorway between northern front ["best"] and back chamber: A.Applied hewn wooden lath over planking within closed doorway in partition between chambers; B.Applied base coat [photo #2], brown coat, and finish coat above and below chair rail; stabilized surrounding plaster. IV.Since the time of application of the first coatings of lime-based or distemper paint to interior plaster is unknown, painting or lime-washing interior plaster will be deferred until further evidence is obtained and coating formulation is determined. The net additional cost for the above changes and extra work to 12/31/18 is $2847.50. Note: no contract for painting has been awarded. Larry Ward |
Date |
January 2019 |
Object Name |
Report |
Catalog Number |
1006.01.050 |
Search Terms |
GDHRPT Restoration George Douglass George Douglass House Cornice brackets Cornice module plaster washer scratch coat brown coat wire lath finish plaster sub-strate hand-split lath coved bracket best parlor |
People |
George Douglass |