Scotchtown Pumphouse Roof Damage

The pumphouse at Scotchtown was struck by a decaying tree, breaking quite a few of the cement roof tiles on the side closest to the sheep pen. Upon removing the damaged tiles, it was revealed that the roof had been leaking long before hurricane Irene struck it. She may have actually done Preservation Virginia a favor in the revealing. As the photo reveals, the plywood sheathing and the felt paper of the 1987 structure was badly decayed. This is not a good sign, as there was no evidence of the roof failure from visually inspecting the tiles. It causes some consternation to think what might be occurring to the other outbuildings.
An inspection of the concrete tiles that were left over from the other builing roofs showed that the tiles, which were stored outside, were not in reliably good shape to use. The steel reinforcing wires had rusted and expanded, creating invisible fractures that only revealed themselves under pressure. The decision was made to entirely replace the roof sheathing, rake boards,and trim boards. New felt paper and 30 year asphalt architectural shingles(color-"Brownwood") were installed, as shown in the second photo. It took the department one week to remove and replace the roof. Material costs were under $350. The roof was just over one square in size.

Irene Trumps Restoration

Hurricane Irene was a good news/bad news event for Preservation Virginia. The good news was that the Surry properties of Bacon's Castle and Smith's Fort had no structural damage. They had eight mature trees blow down between them, and not even a garden bench was broken. The bad news is that since no structures were damaged, insurance pays none of the costs of clean-up. What does this mean to the Restoration Department? Well, someone has to remove all that tree debris. Since Irene, the department has cut up, picked up, and hauled 23 trailer loads of brush to the fire pile at Bacon's Castle, about 138 cubic yards. As you can see from the second photo, five of the Holly trees in the courtyard at Smith's fort came down. Two large walnut trees to the West of the house also were uprooted. The Rolfe-Warren branch plans to use the wood from the two walnuts to make gift shop items.The first photo shows a very large Pecan tree, which was damaged by hurricane Isabelle, that blew down at the Southeast corner of the garden at Bacon's Castle. The pecan is in such poor shape not even the wood can be salvaged. At its current pace, debris clean-up will continue well into October. When the fire pile dries out, there is going to be one heck of a weanie roast.

Vote for John Marshall’s Supreme Court Justice Robes to be one of Virginia’s Most Endangered Artifacts

For the past several years, Preservation Virginia has been pursuing funding to preserve the Supreme Court Judicial Robes of John Marshall. In his 35 years as Chief Justice, John Marshall shaped the Supreme Court into the third equal branch of the U.S. Government. His judicial robes are the most significant surviving artifact documenting his extraordinary legal career. On constant exhibit for decades, the robes have deteriorated due to the black dye used to color them. Today the textile is shredding and turning to dust. Without immediate stabilization and documentation this important artifact will be lost forever.

Help Preservation Virginia raise awareness for this important conservation project by voting for the robes as one of Virginia’s Top Ten Endangered Artifacts, a project of the Virginia Collections Initiative. Virginia's Top Ten Endangered Artifact campaign is designed to complement the existing Most Endangered Historic Sites program run by Preservation Virginia, drawing attention to the threats described and to encourage citizens and organizations to continue to advocate for their protection and preservation.

To vote for the robes, visit: http://www.vatop10artifacts.org/ You can view photographs of the nominees and vote using a secure form or by “liking” photographs of the robes on Picasa.

Moisture Control at the Cole-Digges, Part II

While the Restoration Department was doing roof repairs at the Cole-Digges, the ever deligent headquarters staff pointed out two areas of interior plaster damage that could only have been caused by moisture. The common factors of the two areas were that they were both up high on the wall and they were both under a parapet wall. The top of the parapet walls at the Cole-Digges are about 7/8 wrapped in sheet rubber, which virtually eliminates the possibility of moisture penetration through the top. Examination of the outer faces of the upper brick courses revealed that the mortar in these upper courses had substantially failed, and had been like that during the 1995 restoration of the house. A good quality caulk had been used at that time to repair the mortar joints. This caulk was now at the end of its life. There were visible cracks where the caulk no longer adhesed to the brick. Removal of the caulk revealed that the vertical joints between the bricks were functional on the outside but void of mortar on the interior. So, rain would run into the caulked joints and down into the interior wall cavity via the vertical joints. Eventually this collected moisture would migrate to the two outer surfaces, doing no visible damage to the exterior of the wall, but damaging the plaster on the interior. The solution to this was to repoint the upper courses of brick and then repainting to match the building exterior. The wall cavities will be allowed to dry this summer, saving the plaster repair for the winter, or for when the diligent headquarters staff gets fed up with looking at it.

Archaeology at Corotoman

In preparation for a replacement septic system drain field, staff from the James River Institute of Archaeology are clearing a 29 foot by 22 foot area at Corotoman. This is the 'back yard' of the house that Robert 'King' Carter built in the 1720s. The mansion house burned in the early 1730s but the archaeological remains were uncovered in the 1970s. Because of the proximity to the Rappahannock River, a standard drain field was not practicable. A new design that will work (or so they promise!) requires the absorption area be completely excavated, then covered over with 12 inches of sand on which the effluent ejection apparatus will lay. Under terms of the easement donated to the Commonwealth earlier this year, any ground disturbance must be preceded by archaeology. As of today, which is Day 2 of a 3 day excavation, no features have been found.

Moisture Control at the Cole-Digges

The Restoration Department was performing its inspection of the roofs at headquarters at the beginning of June, 2011, and discovered some significant and urgent problems. Its typical for us to have to apply either seam tape or Geocil 2315 LRF, a fibered brushable rubber sealant, to the seams of the rubber roof about every 4 years. The EPDM that was installed in 1995 is in good shape, but the seam adhesive used dries out, allowing the seams to crack and seperate. In addition to this normal maintenance, we had to repair holes gouged into the EPDM from pieces of bed frame hurled onto the Cole-Digges from the roof of the tenant house next door. We also removed a throw rug, a piece of flashing, and a toilet plunger(someone making a political statement).
The real problems were to the terne-coated, standing seam metal roof that had been applied to the 1805 section of the Cole-Digges. The roof paint was flaking badly, and the roof underneath was starting to rust. The department scrubbed the old paint off with a solution of tsp and warm water, then rinsed with copious amounts of water from a garden hose. The next day the metal was dry and clean. What little flake that was left was swept off with a broom. The seams were painted with a brush, while the flats were rolled. The primer used was Sherwin-Williams Kem-Kromik, in red oxide, and the topcoat was industrial enamel, in that same color. We used 10 gallons of each, at a cost of about$1000. I hope it lasts.
The most serious problem was at the interior gutter of the porch section. The middle front of the gutter sags, allowing ponding water. There was a two foot section of the gutter that had completely rusted out due to this ponding, but with no visible signs of damage to the porch cornice, and no indication of where the water went after it entered the leak-area. It was very curious. We finally determined that there is an EPDM rubber gutter beneath the metal gutter. Rain entered the leak hole, ran under the metal gutter, causing it to rust and leak from the underside, then re-entered the gutter at the downspout locations through the almost invisible underside leaks, and ran into the downspouts. I couldn't make this stuff up. Restoration crimped, soldered, and sealed with brushable sealant, a section of galvanized sheet metal where the ponding water occurred. The gutter bottoms were repaired using 6 inch rubber seam tape, and everything was primed and painted. The final solution for the interior gutters will be a layer of EPDM adhesed to the top of the metal gutter. Epdm is much better at handling ponding water then sheet metal. A section of downspout was also replaced at the front of the house.

Public Comments made by Preservation Virginia at the Fort Monroe Public Meeting on 19 July 2011

The Public Meeting was held by the National Park Service with the support of the City of Hampton. More than 500 people turned out for the mid-day hearing and even more at the evening session. The speakers were overwhelming in favor of establishing a National Park Unit at Fort Monroe to create a sustainable partnership with the Fort Monroe Authority the Commonwealth and the City of Hampton. You can still voice your opinion by registering comments at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/fortmonroe by 25 July.

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment.

I am Elizabeth Kostelny, Preservation Virginia’s Executive Director. I am here to register our support for the establishment of a National Park Service Unit at Fort Monroe.

Preservation Virginia was founded in 1889 to save Virginia’s historic landmarks and places from decay and ruin. Now with more than 6000 members statewide, we continue to support preservation goals as stewards of Historic Jamestowne, Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown, John Marshall’s Richmond home and through sharing resources with a growing a network of committed organizations and individuals who view our historic places as important to the economic and cultural health of our Commonwealth.

Fort Monroe is a place of extraordinary significance and is distinguished by its unique and irreplaceable historic, cultural, natural, scenic, and recreational values. Fort Monroe is a critical part of our nation’s military, maritime and Civil Rights history. John Smith recognized the strategic importance of Point Comfort as early as 1608. Two centuries later, the building of fortifications safeguarded this waterway. During the Civil War, the contraband movement was born after three brave and enslaved men escaped Confederate troops and arrived at Fort Monroe. Their escape inspired others and signaled the end of the slavery in America. Fort Monroe is central to this nation and to this community.

On a personal note as a child growing up in Newport News, for me Fort Monroe is a powerful place. Playing along the shore, visiting in the homes and exploring the fortifications gave me an understanding that history was not about things behind glass or in cases. It instead was about engaging the past and respecting the subtleties that are gained through living with that history all around you.

Preservation Virginia believes that Fort Monroe must be carefully preserved as a vibrant and economically self-sustaining, publicly accessible place where people live, work, and visit—a place to create an ongoing dialogue about our past and our future. This responsibility is enhanced through partnerships on all levels—private and public, federal, state and local government. We appreciate the tremendous efforts of and opportunities provided by the Fort Monroe Authority, the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and the City of Hampton and especially the leadership of Mayor Ward. We acknowledge the Programmatic Agreement and the Design Guidelines as mechanisms for the long term preservation and economic sustainable of the site.

Preservation Virginia supports the designation of Fort Monroe as a National Monument. With National Park Service involvement, our dialogue of what it means to be an American will be enhanced and sustained. Having the NPS as partner at this significant site will create a model that will emulated nationwide and that will endure

We respectfully urge President Obama to use his authority to create a National Monument at Fort Monroe. Thank you.