Loading...
Doc #2 Narrative about priorities at Historic NorthamptonDATE: December 1, 2014 FROM: Historic Northampton TO: Community Preservation Committee RE: CPC’s request for an updated work plan and budget for proposed grant total of $176K At its last meeting, the Committee expressed concern about whether our original August proposal was based on a thorough review of the properties and whether we had identified our priorities correctly. This was a legitimate concern based on the original narrative and we are grateful for the opportunity to revise the work-list to reflect more recent assessments. We have included with this email a revised list of proposed tasks and estimated costs, but we would also like to use this opportunity to talk about our current understanding of the properties and to explain why some of the repairs we foresee are not part of the revised list. In early October, Kris Thomson and I methodically reviewed the exteriors of all three houses and the barn and the interiors of Parsons and Shepherd Houses, attic to basement (Damon is already familiar since our offices are there). About the same time, Jim Flannery came to look specifically at roofs and gutters. We were not able to do more than a cursory review of the barn interior because the tenant has filled it with so much stuff. Giving the tenant notice to quit was the essential first step and this has been done. Once the tenant and his belongings are out of the barn, we will be able to clean this building and get a better idea of its condition. While the needs of our historic properties are many and great, there is a clear order of priority: Structural problems that endanger the integrity of the buildings Parsons House – rotten back sill and post plus weight of roof is pushing back wall outward Shepherd House – at least three posts supporting major beams in the basement have fallen over due to water damage at their bases Shepherd Barn – sills and posts are rotted because of a tree planted too close to the building, failed gutters and debris allowed to accumulate around the perimeter Preventing water from entering the buildings (underlying cause of structural problems) Repairing foundations and sills (Parsons, Shepherd and Barn) Grading around the buildings (Parsons especially) Adding or repairing gutters (all houses) Repairing roofs and flashing (Damon, Shepherd, Barn) Repairing/replacing bulkheads and window wells (Parsons and Damon) Repairing windows (Damon, lesser work on Shepherd) Trimming back nearby trees and bushes and removing debris (all buildings) This work will also discourage animals and insects from entering as well Removing asbestos, fiberglass and mold from all houses to improve environment for tenants, staff, visitors and collections (Parsons cannot open to the public until this is done) Removing asbestos from all three houses Emptying out all basements and disposing of as many of the non-collection items as possible (because mold is growing on wood and cardboard items) Removing fiberglass insulation which is trapping moisture and harboring mice Hepa vacuuming, disinfecting and re-vacuuming all remaining basement surfaces Installing heavy-duty dehumidifiers in all basements Repairing windows and protecting them with exterior storms All the Damon House windows require consolidation, repair, reglazing and repainting (a process described in attached document #4). Once they are replaced, we need to install exterior storm windows or deadlights (deadlights can be used in second-floor storage areas) to protect the restored sashes from the weather. Interior storms are not recommended because they expose the historic sashes both to the elements on the outside and to condensation and mold growth on the inside. Shepherd House is the next priority after Damon. The few storm windows remaining are old and ineffective and the windows sashes are original. Parsons House is third on the priority list for storms. Many of its windows are modern reproductions and in better condition than the Damon and Shepherd windows, but we need to protect them nevertheless. Reducing the cost of heating the houses, which is crippling our ability to do anything else Replacing Parsons furnace which was highly inefficient and required repeated expensive repairs and converting it to gas Adding storm windows (also essential to protect windows as noted above) Converting Damon and Shepherd furnaces from oil to gas Improving insulation where this would be cost-effective Miscellaneous repairs Repairing the ornamental balustrade over the front door of Damon House (likely to appear on a later CPC request) Shepherd House main roof, repair slates where gutters incorrectly attached Shepherd House lean-to roof, replace current snow rail with lighter one to protect slates, and replace damaged slates Progress to date While we could not begin to deal with the major structural problems in Parsons House without grant funding, we began to address many of these other issues with our own funds as soon as we could get approval from the Historical Commission and could line up the contractors. The Historical Commission voted at their October and November meetings to give permission for all the tasks discussed here, including the excavation of a basement under Parsons House, the installation of storm windows, and the repair of the Damon balustrade. They have reserved only the question of whether the Parsons back porch should be replaced after the Parsons basement excavation work is done. The decision here will depend on how the house is to be interpreted. In some cases a task lower on the list has been done before one higher on the list, just for logistical reasons. Tasks that are either in progress or completed to date include: Preventing water from entering the buildings (underlying cause of structural problems) Shepherd House NE corner of foundation has been repaired (you could see daylight through the holes) Parsons House Bulkhead foundation has been repaired Bulkhead and window wells will be done in early December Gutter over residents porch will be rehung in December Damon House Chimney flashing has been repaired Gutters will be added to W side of Damon in early December Undergrowth hugging north and west sides of Ed wing has been removed Shepherd Barn Repair has begun on barn roof and will be completed soon (serious holes) Disastrous tree planted right at corner of barn has been removed We are gradually removing debris from the perimeter Removing asbestos, fiberglass and mold from all houses to improve air quality for tenants, staff, visitors and collections (Parsons cannot open to the public or be used for collection storage until this is done) Parsons House Asbestos has been professionally removed Two of three moldy basements have been shoveled out, the third will be done in December Fiberglass insulation is being removed from ceilings (will be complete next week) Damon House - damaged asbestos has been professionally wrapped Repairing windows and protecting them with exterior storms Damon House – we have removed eight windows on the west side as being too fragile to survive the winter and Kris Thomson will be repairing these off-site. We received permission from the Historical Commission to install exterior storm windows in all three houses at their November 24th meeting. Reducing the cost of heating the houses, since the cost of fuel eats up money that could have been spent on other repairs Parsons House boiler has been replaced We are assessing where insulation could most profitably be increased CONCERNS ON THE LONGER-TERM AGENDA Barn The tenant has been asked to leave, the essential first step before any work can be done on the barn. Thanks to a tree planted next to the corner, debris piled up against the structure, and the school parking lot that sits at a higher level nearby, we are sure we will find significant deterioration of the sills, but fixing this is not as important as fixing Parsons House, and besides, nothing can be done until the tenant is out, which is to be by March 1. The barn, including grading issues around the building, is likely to be the focus of a future CPA request. Damon Damon Structural: In Damon House, we are concerned that the flooring appears to have dropped about 1 ¼” below the mopboards near the fireplaces. In order to determine what is causing this, we need to see how the floor joists are supported near the fireplaces. But that is difficult at the moment because the basement below the problem areas is completely full of collection items and also has a full ceiling completely obscuring the framing of the first floor. Before we can take down parts of the ceiling to see the joists, we need to empty the basement– a task that would be necessary anyway to deal with dirt and mold in that area. But we cannot move out the collections until we can create a place to put them, and this means making Parsons a more suitable environment for collections storage. So a full assessment of this problem will need to wait until the summer of 2015. If correcting the problem turns out to be expensive, this issue may appear on a future CPA request. Damon House roof: Jim Flannery estimates the life of the roof of Damon House at less than five years. Both the main house and the education wing will need to be redone. A few smaller roofs located where several roof planes meet have already been redone because the leaks were damaging the walls and ceilings of the rooms below. Shepherd S hepherd Structural: We can see that water entering the basement has caused posts to rot at the bottom so that they have fallen over and no longer support the house. We plan to repair the posts in December. But there is also a softened girt (big tying beam running from front to back) and we do not yet fully understand why it has deteriorated, so we are still investigating this. The plumber could not find evidence of a leak above that might have caused this but it would be surprising if ambient dampness were the only agent.