{"id":31547,"date":"2009-07-24T16:48:33","date_gmt":"2009-07-24T16:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zonda-develop.go-vip.net\/concrete-construction\/article\/landmark-revival_o"},"modified":"2009-07-24T16:48:33","modified_gmt":"2009-07-24T16:48:33","slug":"landmark-revival_o","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zonda-develop.go-vip.net\/concrete-construction\/projects\/landmark-revival_o\/","title":{"rendered":"Landmark Revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/movie><\/p>

[WEB EXTRA]<\/b> <\/p>

See more of WEI’s projects in “Capital Improvements”<\/a>. Also, visit www.weirestoration.com.<\/a><\/b><\/p>

Two years ago, architect Thomas Walter wouldn’t have recognized the Chinese Community Church in Washington, D.C. as the building he designed in 1852. Layers of paint and stucco formed to look like stone covered its red brick fa\u00e7ade. Most of its window hoods were missing and the bell tower had been replaced by a metallic dome.<\/p>

Walter, who also designed the east and west wings and dome of the U.S. Capitol building and was a founder of the American Institute of Architects, originally designed the building as a Presbyterian church. Since then, the house of worship has served as the Jewish synagogue Ohev Sholom, the Corinthian Baptist Church, and now the capital’s only Chinese church.<\/p>

The new congregation hired Baltimore-based historic restoration contractor Worcester Eisenbrandt Inc. (WEI), to restore the exterior facade. WEI was the project’s only onsite contractor, completing the brickwork, stone patching, carpentry, and copper work. Without the benefit of original architectural drawings, the firm relied on historic photographs for details. In less than a year, WEI brought the church closer to Walter’s original design than it had been in decades.<\/p>

Before anyone lifted a trowel, Erik Anderson, senior architectural conservator for WEI, investigated whether the restoration would be viable. His tests revealed the brick had been painted and then covered with a stuccoing process patented as Baltimore Formstone, in which a cement-based material is sculpted over metal reinforcement to resemble stone.<\/p>

\u201cWe really lucked out,\u201d he says. \u201cThe reinforcement was attached with smooth shank roofing nails in the mortar. If the nails had been anchored into the brick with barbed shanks, it would have meant replacing a lot of brick.\u201d<\/p>

Fortunately, the paint acted as a form release layer that kept the stucco from sticking to the brick. Confident that the fa\u00e7ade could be restored, Anderson recommended removing the Formstone, stripping the paint, and cutting out and repointing the brick.<\/p><\/div>

Reversing the signs of aging<\/b><\/p>

Two masonry foremen, Naser Hasadzinovic and Wilfredo Fuentes, supervised WEI’s masons as they scraped off layers of lead-based paint, careful not to damage the brick. They then replaced brick in areas damaged by prior renovations, including a side entrance and around windows.<\/p>

Again they were lucky. Another historic building was being demolished nearby, and the team found enough brick to fill in about 5% of the Chinese church’s fa\u00e7ade. \u201cA lot of the salvaged brick was an exact match,\u201d says vice president\/project manager Todd Anderson. \u201cBut where we needed more for the most visible areas, we took brick from the back of the church. We then used the salvaged brick to fill in spots where it wasn’t as noticeable.\u201d<\/p>

WEI’s architectural conservators tested the mortar to confirm it was lime-based, and sent it to Virginia Lime Works to create a matching mix and color. Masons repointed the entire fa\u00e7ade with the new mortar.<\/p>

The team also repaired a decorative band of brownstone between the first and second story windows. After uncovering the stone, they found spalling, delamination, and a badly deteriorated top ledge. Removing and replacing the band was costly and time-prohibitive. Instead, the masons cut back the damaged material and used Jahn stone patching mortar to match the original profile.<\/p>

A crowning achievement<\/b><\/p>

A team of skilled carpenters from WEI also performed extensive woodwork restoration. One of their most dramatic and complicated tasks was recreating the square bell tower, which they discovered in a 1906 photo of the church.<\/p>

Foreman John Minihane designed brackets for the new tower to fit the existing angles and framing. The brackets and tower were fabricated in sections offsite and then set in place with a crane. \u201cIt fit like a glove,\u201d according to Todd Anderson. \u201cEverything lined up perfectly, including all the angles and the drilled holes. It was impressive.\u201d<\/p>

The shop millwork carpenters fabricated new window frames, sashes, and hoods to match historic photographs. Before installing the new pieces, they cleaned each stained glass window with toothbrushes and replaced damaged panes. Finally, they replaced aging plexiglass covers with vented windows to protect the historic stained glass.<\/p>

WEI completed the Chinese Community Church restoration in March this year. \u201cThe opportunity does not come often\u2013even after more than 20 years in the historic restoration business\u2013to participate in such a dramatic transformation of a significant historic landmark,\u201d says Erik Anderson.<\/p>

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS<\/b><\/p>

Masonry Contractor\/General Contractor:<\/b> Worcester Eisenbrandt Inc., Baltimore<\/p>

Architect:<\/b> Rippeteau Architects, PC, Washington, D.C.<\/p>

Structural Engineer:<\/b> Robert Silman Associates, Washington, D.C.<\/p>

Materials Suppliers:<\/b> Virginia Lime Works, Madison Heights, Va.; Cathedral Stone Products Inc., Hanover, Md.<\/p>

Stained Glass Supplier:<\/b> Lynchburg Stained Glass, Lynchburg, Va.<\/p><\/div> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[WEB EXTRA] See more of WEI’s projects in “Capital Improvements”. Also, visit www.weirestoration.com. Two years ago, architect Thomas Walter wouldn’t have recognized the Chinese Community Church in Washington, D.C. as the building he designed in 1852. Layers of paint and stucco formed to look like stone covered its red brick fa\u00e7ade. Most of its window […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"scheduledNewsletterDates":[],"_scheduled_newsletter_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"zonda_content_type_url_append":"_o","zonda_dfp_zone":"","zonda_exclude_recommended_contents":false,"zonda_exclude_most_popular":false,"zonda_exclude_tagged_results":false,"zonda_eyebrow":"","zonda_last_newsletter_date":"2099-12-31T23:59:59.999-05:00","zonda_original_url":"","zonda_pdf_version":0,"zonda_print_headline":"Landmark Revival","zonda_promo_abstract":"Two years ago, architect Thomas Walter wouldn't have recognized the Chinese Community Church in Washington, D.C. as the building he designed in 1852. 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