Bacon's Castle Winter Spruce Up-2012

Preservation Virginia's restoration crew has been given the opportunity to spruce-up Bacon's Castle's interior during the winter months of 2012, in preparation for it's reopening on March the 2nd. The last time the the interior was extensively refreshed was in the mid-80's, about 25 years ago. Needless to say, it could use a fresh coat of paint. The crew started in the front half of the 1854 wing. There were countless many plaster cracks that needed patching, but the time consuming job was the windows. The paint on the sashes had alligatored and flaked to the point where they had to be scraped down to bare wood and then primed, before a new topcoat could be applied. In performing this task, the crew discovered that the sashes had Roman numerals cut into them. The numbers started at what is now an interior doorway in the gift, then progressed clockwise around the building. That was the "neat" discovery. The crew also discovered old, but extensive, termite damage to the front window in the hallway, requiring consolidation of the trim and window seat, plus replacement of nailers for the seat, the trim on the right side, and the nailers for the lower wainscot. That was the "bummer".
The crew used Sherwin-Williams alkyd primer and then "Pro-Mar" for the trim topcoat. The Pro-Mar" paint coats well and dries harder then most latex paints, making it ideal for windows. Sherwin-Williams "Duration" paint, in a matte finish, was applied to the plaster. It's a thick paint that helps hide hairline plaster cracks. The fresh paint really made the rooms "pop". The are so much more bright and cheery, it's difficult to believe they are the same rooms. (Hey, if you can't brag on yourself once in a while, what's the point of blogging?)