 |  |  |  |  |  | | Click the thumbnails above to view larger images. |
|
Client: Fort Pitt Society and Daughters of the American Revolution
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
The Fort Pitt Museum describes The Fort Pitt Blockhouse as “not only the last surviving building of the original fort and Pittsburgh's earliest building, but the oldest authenticated structure west of the Allegheny Mountains”. Church Restoration Group’s 2003 involvement with this historic structure was to assist in the preservation, restoration, and replacement of certain elements of this 1764 constructed building.
While removing the one inch concrete slab, a team of archeologists were brought in to excavate the dirt floor, sifting through approximately 18 inches of dirt for artifacts. CRG replaced the slab with a four inch concrete slab with exposed aggregate, giving texture and rustic detail to blend with the building.
CRG’s crews also restored the masonry foundation by carefully removing any visually disruptive mortar joints of the interior stone and brick walls. All repointing of the masonry was performed with hand tools to match the original restoration work of 1911. The team also took out and replaced the stairs leading down to the building.
The cedar shake roof was pressure washed along with the replacement of any damaged shingles. The existing wood gutter with copper gutter liner assembly was also replaced.
The team also worked on many of the wood details for the building. A new entrance door and frame was fabricated using the same tools a craftsman of the 18th century would have used, giving the door an uncanny, authentic appearance while utilizing the existing hardware and metal work. Work also included the inspection and repair of the exposed wood timbers and applying a new preservative coating to all
exposed surfaces.
|
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
