April 3, 2010…Update # 3 - Phase II Restoration of Pemaquid
Point Lighthouse is an $83,000 project being funded and managed by the
nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation and ALF chapter, Friends of
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse
Repointing Work Makes a ‘Striking’ Appearance
By Bob Trapani, Jr.
The third week of Phase II restoration at Pemaquid Point
Lighthouse is in the history books, and along with it, the process of
tuck pointing the interior brickwork is coming to a close.
The tuck pointing process includes filling cut-out joints
along brick or stonework with new mortar, then ‘striking’ each joint by
hand to remove excess mortar
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Tuck pointing the brickwork on the
interior
of Pemaquid Point Light was nearly
completed by April 2, 2010
and make a
symmetrical, clean-finished appearance.
In meticulously ‘striking’ the last of the mortar joints inside the
lighthouse on April 2, 2010, the crews of J.B. Leslie Company, Inc. also
ensured their repointing workmanship was visually striking as well.
Earlier in the week, J.B. Leslie Company endured another round of wild
weather days, thanks to a northeast gale that dropped 6 inches of rain along
Maine’s Midcoast on March 29th and 30th.
The low-pressure system brought heavy, record-setting rain from Connecticut
to Maine – so much so, that the New England Cable News dubbed the weather
event, “New England Underwater.”
Despite the deluge, the repointing work continued inside the tower during
the storm as it marched toward completion.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Al Spier is shown 'striking' or putting
the finishing touches on the new
mortar along the brickwork
On March 31, 2010, Mike Johnson of the Maine Historic
Preservation Commission made a site visit to review the restoration
progress to date and ensure that the work was being conducted in a
manner that met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
Preservation.
During the site visit, the Commission was able to observe
J.B. Leslie Company, Inc.’s crew
demonstrate the
use of a chipping gun, which is used to remove old mortar from the joints of
brickwork, and a needle gun, which is one technique for removing accumulated
coatings on bricks or granite without damaging the brick-face or stonework.
The Commission also examined the
alcove discoveries in the base of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, which
revealed that the light tower was not always brick-lined.
The discovery of finished, parged granite behind the brickwork of the
southeast alcove coincided with historical research that shows the
lighthouse was originally constructed in 1835 with a wooden staircase,
embedded in the masonry of the interior walls.
The present iron staircase and existing interior brick ‘cylinder’ as it was
called by the U.S. Lighthouse Service, was installed in the mid-to-late 19th
century.
Ongoing consultation with the Maine Historic Preservation
Commission has determined that the brick veneer on the interior should
not be cleaned to the extent of removing white flecking or staining
altogether from the face of the brick.
In leaving the flecking in place, it preserves the
ability to perform further analysis in the future on the trace coatings
to determine whether the coatings are remnants of a historic finish.
By working together with entities like the Maine
Historic Preservation Commission and the United States Coast Guard on
Phase II restoration of Pemaquid Point Light, the American Lighthouse
Foundation
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Mike Johnson (left) of the Maine Historic
Preservation Commission talks with Jim Leslie about the
project on March 31, 2010
and J.B. Leslie
Company, Inc. is striving to safeguard every historic aspect possible
associated with the lighthouse – thus ensuring this historic treasure is
preserved in excellent fashion for the future.
