John Smith Roasted His Weenie Here

Hey, it could have happened. The restoration department just finished installing an exterior outlet for a food kiosk by the Archaearium. The 110 volt, 20 amp GFCI circuit runs in pvc conduit for just over 200 feet and is mounted to the statehouse fence. It took 3 men about 3 days plus $265 in materials to install. Good luck keeping guests with their food purchases out of the museum.

Happiness is Cape Henry in Your Rear View

The Restoration dept. has finally finished the Cape Henry gift shop renovations, five weeks behind schedule. We replaced the front door, some siding that had sun or termite damage, two outside lights, added an interior partition wall, hung twelve sheets of slatwall, and built an 8' by 10' storage shed with lights, insulation, shelves and a ramp.
None of the work was complex, so what took so long? Most of the extra time can be blamed on inefficient materials handling, while some was from the gift shop being open for normal operation during the renovation. When the department met with all parties in December of 2009, they were informed that the shop would be closed for two weeks in mid-January,2010. This would have allowed Restoration to use the shop as a depot for materials and tools, and allowed them to work past the 4:00 pm closing time. With the shop open, Restoration had to acquire only the materials they were going to use that day, and pause in their work to be respectful of visitors. Tools had to be loaded in the morning and offloaded in the evening because of the threat of inclement weather. With the siding taking up most of the usable extra space in the Mulebarn, Restoration could not stockpile much additional material, which meant a trip to Lowe's almost every morning. With a one to two hour trip to Lowe's every morning, plus loading the tools and then slugging through commuter traffic 1.5 to 2 hours , fast starts were not an option. In retrospect, given that there was no available lockable storage at the job site, renting a good size steel storage unit, about twenty feet long, would have made good sense. Hindsight really can be a bitch.

Ramped and Amped

The Restoration Department, with the addition of a two-light circuit and a walk ramp, have finally finished the storage shed at Cape Henry. Mike has started to replace the deteriorated siding on the visitor center/gift shop, and discovered an active termite infestation which seems to be confined to the two lower pieces of siding to the left of the front door. Meanwhile, Jon has finished repairing water damage to the 1854 wing at Bacon's Castle, that was caused by a second floor toilet leak. Karl and Jon are spot painting the porch room and adjoining hallway, the West chamber and the Great Hall in preparation for the 2010 visitation season.

Cape Henry Shed

The storage shed at Cape Henry is done. The 8'x10' shed copies the architecture of the gift shop and is built to withstand the strong coastal winds of this area. Items left to complete are the ramp, the electric line for the interior light, and a bulkhead for the hillside of the shed. The front door of the gift shop will be replaced as soon as time and weather permit.

The Eyes Have It

The Hollow finally has complete period reproduction windows that were installed by the Restoration Crew the week of November 2nd, 2009. Making the sashes took about four weeks and $1400 worth of select grade heart pine. The time frame is a bit inaccurate due to absences and vacations of the crew. Tasks yet to be accomplished include installation of the backband trim on the three downstairs windows, making and installing a winder tread on the stairs, acquiring and installing heart poplar siding on the plywood covered back side of the house, and installing the bed molding under the eaves.

We are lumberjacks and we're okay

The restoration department took advantage of the cool weather October 8th to remove a very large tree limb from the side yard at Bacon's Castle. The Castle is having a Twilight Tour on October 24th, and Education Director Jenn Hurst, who is organizing the event, had enough foresight to visit the grounds, and promptly requested its removal. It took all day with three men, a chainsaw and a trailer to remove the debris. The Restoration Dept. gratefully acknowledges the assistance of James Winfield, who has been a tractor operator for the company for 30 years. James just celebrated his 85th birthday on October 4th. It is interesting to note that although the huge limb has laid for five months, it was as wet as the day it fell. Jenn owes the Restoration Department big time.

Hollow Sashes

The Restoration dept has spent the last few weeks setting up tents and milling and shaping heart pine stock for window sashes. Jon Miano exhibits the first of nine sashes completed for the project. The sashes are peculiar in that the glass panes are 7"x9" instead of the normal 8"x10" panes. The pane size was reverse engineered, as we had the original window openings but no original sashes. The materials cost for this job will be about $1400.