October 2003
Restoration work began on October 1, 2003 when the
general contractor, Voss Industries, nudged their
temporary office trailer into the south end of The
Gamble House driveway. It has been six years since
the idea of restoration was first considered and
now, after much planning, research, historic consultant
evaluating, and campaigning, we are entering the
shortest but most exciting phase; the restoration
itself. This phase of the work is estimated to take
nine months.
During the next few weeks a security fence will
be installed around the House and scaffolding erected.
The office trailer, fence and scaffolding will be
painted a custom chocolate brown to blend with the
house and its surroundings. This attention to detail
on a construction site is quite unusual. but fitting
for our high-profile National Historic Landmark that
will remain open for public touring.
Once the scaffolding is in place, restoration consultants
will have an “up close and personal” view
of the exterior condition and deterioration before
they proceed with the cleaning and treatment.
Progress reports will be posted regularly on this
site and The House will be open for docent-led tours
during restoration, except on rare occasions. Please
come by and visit The Gamble House clad in scaffolding,
a sight that hasn't been seen in over 60 years.
Additionally, Wilkman
Productions is creating a video record of the
entire restoration process. Additional photos by Matt
Jalbert.
March 2004
The Gamble House exterior restoration is underway
with the objectives of mitigating the effects of
95 years of exposure to sun and weather, and preserving
the historic fabric into the future. Severe deterioration
of timber beams and rafter tails is being treated
with great care to conserve as much sound historic
material as possible, the original split-redwood
shakes are being treated with a special preservative,
and the roof membrane is being replaced to ensure
protection of the interior and its priceless contents.
Diseased wood and rot is being removed from 262
Douglas fir rafter tails and beam-ends using hand-held
instruments such as dental tools. In most cases,
a breathable, epoxy and cellulose patching compound
is replacing rotted material. In the case of very
severe deterioration, or where structural integrity
is compromised, we will replace missing material
will be in-kind, old-growth fir to match the original
wood. The beams and rafters will then be finished
with a penetrating preservative.
Thirteen different conditions of deterioration
have been identified on the 36-inch split redwood
shakes, from diseased bare wood to sound material
with perfectly bonded paint. The redwood-shake cladding
will not be stripped of its 70-year old coat of non-original,
lead-based paint, since it was determined that this
process could cause further damage to the wood. Instead,
the shakes will be conserved with a penetrating preservative,
tinted to approximate the color values that the shakes
would have today if they had never been painted.
The next milestone, to be covered in a subsequent
progress report, is the replacement of the roof with
a contemporary material to replicate the original
appearance. Weather permitting, this will begin in
mid-March or April.
Estimated completion date for exterior work is
July, 2004.
April 2004
The rafter tails and beams are 90% complete. In
line with our restoration philosophy, treated elements
do not look brand new, but show their years. Since
much of the original wood was lost to rot and fungus
the finish on the beams and rafter tails is a visual
interpretation of how they might have looked after
96 years, and include intentional scratches, holes
and marks that will allow moisture to escape.
Window treatment is 90% complete. Paint, varnish,
dirt and decay have been carefully removed and the
wood treated with a special preservative. Now, for
the first time in years, the contrast between the
wood surrounding the windows and the redwood shakes
look like it once did; the window wood is lighter
and the shakes dark, creating a lively 3-dimensional
effect.
One hundred and thirty five window screens were
removed and are now being restored. They had taken
the brunt of bad weather, were in serious disrepair,
and so require much careful work. Luck was on our
side; we found in the basement eleven unused screens
in pristine condition providing our consultant with
the clues needed for their restoration. The screens
will be replaced prior to removing the scaffolding.
The exterior redwood shakes are 70% complete. They
have been cleaned and treated individually and have
received two coats of preservative. A careful application
of a third and final coat of preservative with a
color tint will give the shakes the visually integrated
look of a 96 year old weathered house that has been
well-maintained. In keeping with current restoration
methods we have made as few interventions as possible
and have left some out-of-the-way shakes untreated
so that future generations will have historic evidence
of the process. There are a few seriously damaged
shakes and these will be replaced with nearly identical
shakes that were acquired from a 1905 barn that was
being razed.
The wood railings around the sleeping porches are
finished. They were cleaned, stripped and then finished
with an oil-based preservative that will allow the
wood to age. There is a vast difference between their
appearance when the work began and now; the qualities
of this beautiful old-growth wood that had been hidden
by weather and dirt are once again revealed.
After considerable research on the best method to
apply the roofing material — a contemporary
material that looks similar to the original Malthoid
but is more flexible and will have a longer life — work
begun in late April. There are several levels of
roof and at no time will the whole roof be removed.
Currently, the undercoats are being removed and replaced
with new material. All remaining repairs that require
roof access will be completed prior to laying the
final chosen material. A large HVAC hood and several
small vents have been removed to return the roof
profile to its 1908 state.
Other projects include the treatment of metal straps,
some new roof flashing, repairs to downspouts, fabrication
and installation of gutter drain screens to ease
leader boxes maintenance in the eaves. After the
scaffolding is removed, the pebble-dash foundation
coat will be repaired and treated to match existing
material and a moisture barrier will be installed
around the perimeter.
The capital campaign is in the final stretch; we
need to raise $80,000 to reach the $3.5 million goal.
Work is proceeding well and on target and the estimated
completion date is late July, 2004.
June 2004
Following the completion of wood repairs on the
main residence, restoration is now underway on the
garage (the Gamble House Bookstore), including the
treatment of rafter tails, windows, doors and shakes,
using identical methods as those used on the house.
Being a single story structure, though, the garage
can be treated from ladders rather than scaffolding.
A new roof is being installed both house and garage.
The new roofing sheet is a close adaptation of the
historic Malthoid material, minus the asbestos that
the original contained. A detailed plan to protect
the House and garage during roof removal and installation
requires that the pieces of the old roof be removed
individually, by hand. An enclosed chute on the side
of the house allows old roofing material to fall
directly into a dumpster on the ground without danger
of debris hitting the house. In addition, the recently-restored
beams and rafters have been wrapped with protective
paper to prevent damage during re-roofing. A blast
shield affords protections for the house from any
mishaps involving the adjacent pot of 450-degre heated
tar.
The actual roofing materials consist first of a
resin paper sheet placed over the wood sheathing,
which is 1-inch thick, vertical grain, toungue-and-groove,
Douglas fir. Over this is a fibreglass base ply that
is nailed to the sheathing. Finally, a Bitumous
cap sheet with a ceramic granule surface is applied
to the base sheets with hot tar. The color of the
ceramic granule was chosen based on the contrast
evident in historic black-and-white photos as well
as on the color of the previous roofing material.
All 150 window screens are being restored after
having been removed from the house. Due to the weather
abuse they have taken over the past 60 years, restoration
involves careful stripping of earlier, non-original
finishes, and approriate refinishing and installation
of bronze-wire screen.
A final tint will be applied selectively to the
redwood shakes during the coming month. This artistic
task, to be overseen by our architectural conservator,
will consider the age of the house, its original
color, its paint color of the 1930s, and its weathering
patterns. Some 28 of the original, split redwood
shakes are badly damaged and will be replaced by
vintage redwood shakes of identical dimensions that
were salvaged from the collapsed roof of a c. 1905
barn near Arcata, Calfornia.
During June, scaffolding will be removed from the
south end of the house to enable a below-grade moisture
barrier to be installed around the foundation. The
restoration proceeds on budget, with completion estimated
for late July, 2004.
August 2004
The Gamble House exterior restoration is now complete.
The objectives of mitigating the effects of 95 years
of exposure to sun and weather, and preserving the
historic fabric into the future have been met. Diseased
wood and rot were gently removed from 262 Douglas
fir rafter tails and beam-ends and then filled with
a breathable expoxy. The roof was replaced with similar
material, exterior redwood shakes were cleaned and
treated with wood preservative, doors, window frames
and screen windows were repaired and restored. The
philosophy was to do no harm to the existing fabric
and to interpret the exterior so that it once again
resonates with the original vision of the architects.
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