Montpelier Restoration Update - 4/30/2008
Plastering
The walls of M-002 and M-008 (North and South Wing Cellar Passages) have received their single coat of plaster. The walls of the cellar stairs in the North and South Wings have also been plastered.
The masons have also plastered the fireplaces in M-100 (North Wing Room) and M-201 (Large Bedroom).
Wayne Mays has finished patching the small areas of missing plaster in M-108 (Drawing Room).
.
Doors
Olivier duPont-Huin continues to return the surviving Madison doors to their original sizes and Keith Forry is installing patches to repair holes in the Madison doors that are associated with second and third generation locks.
.
M-106 (North Passage)
Mac Ward has installed the cove molding under the nosing of the stair treads.
Dino C. and Greg Calloway are priming the period II stair. Because the railings, newels and risers will eventually be grained to look like mahogany, a cranberry color is being used for the prime color. The skirt boards are also being primed a dark gray color and their finish coat will be the same dark gray finish found on the other baseboards in the house.
.
M-111 (Nelly’s Back Room)
Bill Bichell has installed the H-L hinges on the eastern exterior door. This door was originally used to access the detached circa 1764 kitchen found in the South Yard and possibly as way to bring food into the 1764 Dining Room without using the main exterior doors or passages.
.
M-204 (Garret Closet)
Gene Lyman is building the ladder stair that will access the garret (attic).
.
Colonnade Deck
Bill Bichell, Gene Lyman and Blaise Gaston are installing the bottom rail of the Chinese railing. In the video above, Gene and Bill use a very large, 12” circular saw to cut a slopping rabbet joint into the Chinese railing’s bottom rail.
.
South Wing Porch
Mac Ward continues to prepare to install the eastern deck on the south wing.
.
South and North Wing Cellar Entrance (East Side)
Mason Jerry Campbell has finished veneering the south cellar entrance and has started to veneer the north entrance.
.
Exterior
Thomas Tyler has started to layout the forms for the pathways that will lead from the Portico stairs to the cellar entrances.
.
Archaeology
The archaeologists have almost finished their work at the site of the new bathroom building and are preparing to start excavating the site of a slave quarter that was part of Montpelier’s South Yard outbuilding complex. For more information click over to their blog “Latest Dirt” (http://www.montpelier.org/latest_dirt/).
