New Copper Roofs for the Tower

With the majority of the woodwork now being done off site, the focus on the tower has shifted to the roofs. The tower roofing consists of a dome as well as two small roofs, one below each balustrade. Those two small roofs will be fully replaced with new copper. In the picture above, one of the crew members from Oak Roofing is soldering part of a new roof into place.

Historic Fabric Staying in Place

As mentioned in the April 17th post about historic nails, the wood sheathing for the two small roofs on the tower is historic fabric. The boards measure somewhere between 17-20 inches in width. Boards of that size are most likely from old growth forests and in our case that means the boards likely date to 1747-8. The majority of these boards are being put back into place in preparation for the new copper roofs being installed this week. The only boards not going back are ones that are in too poor shape to be reused.

Water Test

Since the goal of this project is to stop water infiltration, tests have to be done in order to correctly identify the location and cause of leaks. On Wednesday the project team did a water test on the dome. As you can see in the photo, water was sprayed on the outside of the dome to simulate a rain storm while other project team members stood inside watching for leaks.

The test proved successful and we have now documented the areas prone to leaking. Some of the seams are letting in water, as is the connection between the weathervane and the dome. The next step will be to tighten up and seal those areas so that the water stays on the outside of the tower from now on.

Framing of the Tower Dome

The framing that supports the dome for our tower was on display this week in preparation for a water test. The framing is believed to be as old as 1748.

As you can see in the upper left photo, the original workers marked each beam and board to know exactly where it would go. This was common practice in the late 18th century. The workmen would have assembled the framing on the ground, marked each piece to be sure it fit, disassembled the framing, hauled it up to the top of the tower, and then completed the final assembly.

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.