A Beleaguered Wall:  Conservators Repair and Replace Brick & Mortar

Thanks to the diligence of architectural conservators like John G. Lee and Ellen Hagsten, the Hammond-Harwood House has remained on the cutting edge of historic preservation.  Over the past two years, John and Ellen have been working on the South Wing of the 5-part historic mansion.  Here, the problems were numerous:  the deterioration of original mortar, below-grade parging to a depth of 2 feet, the use of Portland cement, etc..  Apparently, problems with the South Wing Garden Wall have been a constant part of this site.  The conservation team notes that "the mixture of mortars present suggests there have been a variety of repairs conducted on the lower part of this wall for much of its existence.  The below grade Portland Cement parging that stretches  from the grade line to about two feet below grade was probably added to cut off some of the water supply in an area that had rising damp problems.  Unfortunately, while the Portland does limit the movement of water, once water got in behind the wall, there [was] no opportunity for evaporation and the water conditions in the wall actually [got] worse.  Digging down to the base of the parging, we found reservoir of water pooled up in the heavy clay soil (even four days after the last rain).  This alone suggested to us that the wall would be better off without the Portland parging. 

The irrigation drip line that water the boxwoods against this wall -- along with the constant shading provided by the backyard trees around this wall -- ensure that this wall rarely dries out thoroughly.  Additionally, the face pointing of the bricks within the water table has stopped evaporation through these joints.  This means that all evaporation occurs through the face of the bricks [this is evident from the chemical build-up and algae on the brick faces].  Behind this face-pointing is a mixture of original mortar, the sand which was original mortar and dirt.  This situation may have also been [affected] by the many years of ivy growth on this wall.  Ivy feeds on the lime in the [original] lime mortar. 

Under Attack from the Elements:  The Most Beautiful Doorway in America

Referred to by architectural historians as "the most beautiful doorway in America," the front door at the Hammond-Harwood House has been hammered by the elements for  228 years.  In fact, its age was starting to become painfully obvious.   In the Fall of 2002, a conservation team was assembled in the attempt to combat Mother Nature's effects on the door.  Under the leadership of John G. Lee, a plan was laid out to carefully remove layer upon layer of peeling paint--all the while making minor repairs to the wood when necessary.  Team worker Jimmy Anderson has been the man on the front lines.  Jimmy began by putting low heat on the existing painted surface.  Then, he began the laborious process of manually scraping modern paint from the wooden doors, spandrels, and engaged columns (The door was last painted in 1977).  In more delicate spots, Jimmy applied Citrus Grip 'n' Strip, made by American Building Restoration, to facilitate easier removal of the paint.    After the initial exfoliation, Jimmy applied a thin layer of primer to the wood surface.  As of early December 2002, Jimmy was still working on this intermediate application phase.  Porter Oil Paints (KY) will ultimately be used to protect and highlight the most beautiful doorway in America.

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