Montpelier Restoration Update – 1/10/2008

Plastering

The masons have applied the finish coat to the wall of M-100 (north wing chamber) and are putting the brown coat onto the walls of M-104 (Mr. Madison’s Room). They have also started to whitewash M-101 (North wing, east closet).

 

Millwork

The dresser (a piece of furniture much like a modern kitchen counter with shelves above it) for Dolley’s kitchen was delivered. Evidence for the dresser was found on the east wall of Dolley’s kitchen and it was fabricated by Blaise Gaston.

Blaise Gaston and Nick Oster are currently reconstructing the exterior doors for the wings and M-111 (Southeast Chamber).

 

M-112 (Old Dining Room)

Gene Lyman has finished installing the baseboards in the closet under the period I (circa 1765) south stair.

 

M-106 (North Passage)

Mac Ward is installing the stair railing. To provide extra support to the railing, four iron balusters have been added. Iron balusters were a traditional way to strengthen stair railings in the early-19^th century and the iron balusters on the Montpelier stair will be visually indistinguishable from the adjoining wooden balusters.

 

M-108 (Drawing Room)

Ed Gomez continues to install the chair rail and baseboard. After the chair rail has been fitted, it will be removed and triglyphs will be carved into the fascia. Oval rosettes made from composition (composition is a material made from chalk, hide glue, resin and linseed oil that was commonly used to recreate architectural ornaments in the late-18^th and early-19^th centuries), similar to rosettes found at Arlington House in Arlington County, Virgina, will be applied between the triglyphs. Gold Leaf Studios in Washington DC is making the composition rosettes.

We also received the models for the egg-and-dart moldings that will be installed on the Drawing Room pediment. The models were carved by Fred Wilber and include examples of both the horizontal and the raking sections. Molds taken from these models will be used to produce the sections of composition ornament that will be applied to the pediment.

 

M-109 (South Passage)

Gene Lyman is repairing the pieces of circa 1765 wainscot that will be installed in this space. Even thought the wainscot was altered by the duPonts when they added a partition at the east end of the passage, almost all of the paneling survived. To repair the paneling, Gene is replacing portions of the end stiles (vertical boards that form the frame around the panels) that were removed during the duPont renovations.

 

M-115 (South Wing, East Closet)

Bill Bichell is installing the plank embrasure for the window in this space. Keith Forry has also finished installing the baseboards for this room.

 

M-118 (South Wing Chamber)

Keith Forry is installing the reconstructed baseboards on the east and south walls of this room.

 

M-201 (Large Bedroom)

Jack Fisher, a painter who specializes in applying historic paints, has started to prepare the walls of 201 for a glue based distemper. To prepare the walls he is applying what is essentially a primer made from an unpigmented distemper. Distemper was specified for this room because it was found on the surviving circa 1810 corner beads that flanking the fireplace.

 

M-206 (Drawing Room Chamber)

Dino Copeland is priming the trim. When this room is finished, all of the second floor will have been prepped for painting and primed.

 

M-002 (North Cellar Passage)

Olivier Dupont-Huin has finished installing the cellar stair partition and is installing the cellar stair stringers.

 

M-007 (1765 Cellar)

Tim Proffit is rebuilding the back wall of the cellar fireplace.

 

M-008 (South Cellar Passage)

The masons continue to prepare this room for plastering by making final adjustments to the spacing of the laths. The lath spacing is critical because if it is too narrow or too wide, the wet plaster will not attach, or key, correctly.

 

Colonnade

The ipe sleepers are being installed on the colonnade deck.