Montpelier Restoration Update 6/25/2008

Flooring

Rosebud continues to clean the floors on the first floor. This week they have cleaned the floors in M-105 (Dining Room) and have started to clean the floors in the South Wing.

Painting

The painters have started to prime M-112 and are also painting the newly installed Chinese rail on the colonnade. Restoration painter Jack Fisher has also finished applying the final linseed-oil based paint to the trim in the South Wing (M-118, M-117, M-116 and M-117) as well as M-111 (Nelly’s Back Room).

M-105 (Dining Room)

A second generation of flooring had been laid over the floors in circa 1901 and in the course of installing the new floor many hundreds of nail holes had been punched into it the original Madison floors. To repair the damage, Keith Forry cut dowels into shape of the nail holes, hammered them into place and then used a nail punch to set them slightly below the level of the floors.

M-112 (Nelly’s Best Room)

Mason Ray Cannetti has repaired the St. Bee’s sandstone stone fireplace surround where an earlier patch had failed. The new patch is made from St. Bee’s sandstone ground down into a powder and mixed with a semi-hydraulic lime putty. Cannetti has also injected a lime-based grout (made by the Jahn Masonry Repair company) behind the surviving c.1764 plaster found above the fireplace surround. The plaster was found to have become delaminated from the brickwork behind it and the grout will help to reattach the plaster to the bricks.

M-206 (Restoration Room)

Gene Lyman has started to repair the door that leads from M-206 to the colonnade deck. The door, which features 12 panes of glass, dates to circa 1812.

1797 Cellar (M-003)

Olivier Dupont-Huin has installed the stringers and treads for the 1797 cellar stair. He also installed the horizontal beaded sheathing that encloses the stair. Fragments of these sheathing boards were found during the restoration (they had been re-used by the duPonts during their 1901 renovations) and the reconstructed paneling duplicates the original examples.

Colonnade Deck

The decking panels for the Colonnade deck have been installed. Similar to the wing decks, the decking has been panelized to make removal and cleaning easier.

Exterior

Thomas Tyler has finished installing the topsoil for the west yard’s lawn and the gravel base for the path that leads from the original Madison road up to the Portico steps. Evidence for the path and the lawn has been found archaeologically and they are also shown in a circa 1818 watercolor.

Kevin Neito and Ray Cannetti are repointing any failed mortar joints and repairing bricks where necessary.

The masonry shed has been removed from the existing duPont kitchen and the kitchen will be demolished in early July.

Mac Ward continues to install and fit the deck framing on the eastern side of the south wing.

Montpelier Restoration Update 6/18/2008

Flooring

Rosebud has finished cleaning the floors on the second floor and have started to clean the floors in the North Wing.

Painting

The painters continue to prepare Room 212 for painting and are priming M-118 (South Wing Room). Jack Fisher has also started to give the trim in M-118 (South Wing Room) its final coat of hand-ground linseed oil paint.

M-105 (Dining Room)

Historical architect Mark Wenger and architectural historian Jenn Wilkoski have recorded the tack holes in the floors of the Dining Room.

M-111 (Nelly’s Back Room)

Keith Forry is repairing a deteriorated section of the eastern window sill.

M-112 (Nelly’s Best Room)

Keith Forry is patching small areas of deterioration in both window sills. Most of the deterioration appears to have been caused by water being trapped under an earlier epoxy patch.

1797 Cellar (M003)

Olivier Dupont-Huin has painted the stringers for the 1797 cellar stair and has started to prepare the sheathing that will form the stair’s enclosure.

Colonnade

Gene Lyman has installed the coping that runs along the bottom of the railing.

Exterior

Two trees have been removed to make way for the reconstructed Madison era fence. Evidence for the fence is shown in two Madison-period prints and has also been found archaeologically.

Thomas Tyler continues to finalize the grade. This week he has established the center path that will lead from the fence to the portico and added more top soil.

At test panel for the final paving material has also been produced. For the panel graded-river gravels, similar to the gravels that the archaeologists are finding associated with Madison-era paths, are being used. To consolidate the panel, a liquid polyurethane called “Mountain Grout” (which is somewhat similar to Gorilla glue) is being poured over the gravel to permanently bond them together. This paving system will allow for a strong, water-permeable surface that is also easy to walk on.

Kevin Neito continues to clean the bricks on the exterior of the mansion. He is also rebuilding a portion of the west wall under the north-cellar window of the North Wing. The bricks for the existing repair, which were installed at the beginning of the restoration, did not match the texture or color of the original closely enough and so they are being replaced with more suitable bricks.

We have also started to take down the masonry shed that was attached to the duPont kitchen. This is the first step towards demolishing the kitchen, which is the last standing element of the duPont’s additions to Montpelier.

Mac Ward started to install the framing for the South Wing’s eastern deck.

Montpelier Restoration Update – 6/11/2008

Flooring

The Rosebud Company continues to remove the non-Madison paints, stains and waxes from the floors. So far they have cleaned most of the second floor, although several rooms will need to be re-treated to remove the more intractable areas of finish. However, the floors they have finished look great and they have been able to return the floors to something very close to what Madison would have seen.

After Rosebud has finished with a room, Keith Forry is installing patches in any large holes found in the floors. To help the new patches blend in with the original heart pine floors, Keith is cutting eccentrically shaped dutchmen from heart pine to fill the holes.

Painting

The painters are scraping and preparing M-212 for painting.

Doors

Olivier Dupont-Huin continues to repair the surviving Madison doors.

1797 Cellar (M003)

Olivier Dupont-Huin has started to reconstruct the ladder stairs that original connected the 1797 cellar with M-106 (North Passage).

M-008 (South Wing Passage)

Bill Bichell has started to install the framing for the South Wing Passage’s western door. While these doors were not part of the original Madison house (the passage was left open to the elements), they are needed because we will be heating and cooling the cellars to prevent condensation from forming on the framing.

Colonnade

Bill Bichell and Gene Lyman have finished installing the lattice for the Chinese rail. The next step will be to have the painters give the railing its final coat of paint.

Exterior

The concrete pad that will support the landing in front of the Portico steps has been poured. Thomas Tyler has also spread more top soil and prepared the western yard for sodding.

Mac Ward has finished cutting the framing for the South Wing’s eastern porch. All of the pieces have been dry fitted together and he is currently applying a wood preservative (Zintox) and priming each piece before final installation.

Montpelier Restoration Update – 6/4/2008

Masonry and Plastering

The masons from Price Masonry have officially finished their work at Montpelier. The crew, lead by Wayne Mays, have been working on the restoration for over four-and-a-half years and the significance of their contribution to the restoration can not be overstated. During their time at Montpelier they have reconstructed missing chimneys, re-pointed mortar joints across the mansion, repaired the large voids we found inside the walls of the wings, rendered and whitewashed the portico and colonnade columns, re-plastered almost the entire house (which required them to put 90 tons of new plaster onto the walls using only trowels), paved the cellar kitchens and laying a one-of-a-kind clay floor in the 1764 cellar. Their expertise was always appreciated and often their knowledge of historic masonry helped us to develop solutions to some of our most complex problems. While we will miss having them around, we know that their work here will be admired for generations.

In the photo above the masons are, from left to right, Tim Proffitt, Wayne Mays, George Dempsey, Alex Hedley and Lewis Rucker. Masons Matthew Lohmeyer, Robbie Kolb, Joe Slaughter and Aaron Wieland also worked on the restoration but are not pictured.

Flooring

The Rosebud Company has started to clean the floors on the second floor. So far they have cleaned the floors in M-200 (Small Bedroom), M-201 (Large Bedroom), M-207 (Old Library) and have started to clean the floors in M-212 (Southwest Chamber). To clean the floors they first run a floor buffer over the floor to remove any dirt. Next the floor is covered with a solvent and then buffed again to help remove the dissolved or softened waxes and oil stains.

Painting

The painters have been spending the mornings before the house opens sanding and painting in the rooms that are open for visitors to tour, including M-107 (entry). After the house opens for tours, they are moving to M-115, M-116 and M-117 (South Wing Passage and Closets).

A decorative painter, Farrar Woltz from Ancathe Design, has painted several samples of the graining pattern that will be used on the railing, riser and newel posts M-106 (North Passage) stair. She based her samples on a mahogany graining pattern found on a surviving fragment of the original newel post found reused in the Mansion’s framing. She used a traditional process to grain the newel that includes a base coat of paint followed by two layers of custom-mixed glazing. The first glaze is made from pigments mixed into either vinegar or beer. This layer is then covered with a second glaze made from pigments mixed in oil. A brush is next run over the glazed surface of the newel to produce the distinctive graining pattern. The final step, which is not shown in the video above, involves applying a clear varnish over the graining to protect it.

Doors

Olivier Dupont-Huin and Keith Forry continue to repair the surviving Madison-era doors.

Colonnade

Bill Bichell and Gene Lyman continue to install the lattice bars in the Chinese railing.

Exterior

The forms for a concrete pad that will support the landing in front of the Portico steps are being installed. Embedded into the concrete will be an electrical ice-melting system that will help keep access to the mansion safe during the winter months. On top of the slab a consolidated pebble or crushed rock surface will be installed that will mimic similar surfaces that have been found archaeologically around the house.

Mason Kevin Nieto has also returned to work at Montpelier and he is currently repointing failing mortar joints

Archaeology

The archaeologists have started to excavate the site of what is believed to be a slave quarter. Recently they found a brass stirrup for a door lock that appears to date to the Madison-era. We are excited about this find and will use the artifact as a guide when we re-cast the stirrups for the reconstructed locks in the mansion. To find out more information on the excavation, visit the Montpelier Archaeology Blog (http://www.montpelier.org/latest_dirt/).