A Peek Under the Roof

Our crew has opened both the upper and lower roofs of the tower to investigate water infiltration and in preparation for a new copper roof. This picture highlights the framing of the eaves at the upper roof.

Tower Windows Leave for Repairs

Our carpentry crew has been hard at work this week carefully removing the tower windows, which date to 1882, for restoration. These windows are each composed of 5 pieces (2 upper sash, 2 lower sash, and 1 arch) per side. They are delicate and heavy, but the fact that the windows are able to be repaired and not replaced is a testament to their workmanship.

Pictured is the arch portion of one side.

Water Main Break Does Not Stop Restoration

As our local readers know, a water main ruptured early Saturday morning under the pedestrian mall on the south side of the Old State House. While the rupture caused major damage to the pedestrian mall, the Old State House and its scaffolding came away more or less unscathed. Restoration work progressed as usual Monday morning despite a large portion of the pedestrian mall still blocked off for repairs.

Field Repairs Set to Begin

Since removing siding and the balustrades, our team's attention has been shifted towards field repairs. Field repairs are used when only a small portion of the wood is damaged and full replacement is not necessary. Remember that we are doing our best to retain as much historic fabric (historic wood, paint, roofs, etc.) as we can.

Window Work to Begin Soon

The windows in the tower of the Old State House date to 1882 and over 125 years in Boston weather they are in need of repairs. Beginning this week, restoration carpenters from M&A Architectural Preservation will work to restore these historic windows. Inspecting the windows in the photo above is our preservation consultant Judy Selwyn of Preservation Technology Associates.

Historic Nails

Earlier this week, the copper flashing was removed from the roof of the lower two levels of the tower. Underneath the flashing we found old boards, many of them 17 to 18 inches wide. These hand-wrought nails were pulled out of one of the boards for examination. The nails are distinguished by their point and less than perfect construction. They likely date to the 18th century, as does the board that they held in place.

Tower Siding Removed

Beginning at the end of last week and continuing Monday and Tuesday of this week, the Old State House tower has been stripped of its siding. The lower portion of the tower, known as level one, now has all of the exterior siding removed. In the picture above the interior diagonal sheathing can be seen, as well as one of the tower's ox-eye windows.