With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, July is not an easy time to work on a roof in Lewiston, Idaho. But the often-crackling temperatures haven’t stopped a roofing crew from taking on one of the region’s most exciting historic preservation projects, the restoration of Hurlbut Mansion.

Recent weeks have seen the completion of several important steps in this first phase of the Lewiston Children’s Home’s restoration, as noted in a recent segment on KLEW News. With stabilization of the building the focus of this summer’s work, crews have taken down the building’s four columns for future restoration, rebuilt the porch roof and balcony framing, and repaired assorted roof elements around the building, including over the bay window and the dining room window. They have also dismantled a non-original shed attached to the mansion’s south wall, reworking that space back to Kirtland Cutter’s original design of a screened-in porch. Old, deteriorated shingles over the entire mansion roof were stripped and discarded. Even the third-floor dormers have seen attention, structurally and decoratively. (View a collection of photos here.)

Now the crew is taking on the main roof of the mansion. Originally, the mansion’s roof featured internal gutters, horizontal troughs about 6 inches wide and 1 foot from the edge of the roof. Water collected in the troughs and was funneled into a series of downspouts.

Over time, however, the internal gutters were covered with shingles, probably to save on maintenance costs. Water was thereby routed right off each edge of the roof, landing close to the building’s walls and foundation. So rebuilding the internal gutters means not only serving the cause of historical authenticity, but ensuring that the foundation of the building remains stable well into the future.

The crew works to install a Duro-Last membrane on the mansion's internal gutters.

Once the internal gutters were framed out, the crew put new half-inch plywood sheeting over the roof’s original shiplap. Then they laid down tar paper. A Duro-last membrane seals the gutters and covers the flat, porch roof — it will also cover the flat, top portion of the roof around the skylight. Currently, new, 50-year composition shingles are being laid over the mansion’s various ridges, hips and valleys.

The end result of this phase will be a building that is stable: secure from the elements inside and out. That guarantees that the rest of the mansion restoration can be effectively tackled. And as local support helped match the funding of corporate and private foundation partners to get this phase started, the reroofing of the mansion proves that the community cares about the vision of this building as a new center for early learning and for community events.

Fresh shingles viewed from out the mansion's west, third-floor dormer window.

If you share that vision for this Lewiston landmark, what are you waiting for? Consider joining the many individuals, businesses and organizations who have had their names inscribed on a brick to be laid at the restored mansion. Or join our sponsorship program, at a level of giving that is right for you. And follow our progress on Facebook (“like” the page to get updates right to your newsfeed) and on Twitter.

Have questions? Contact us via email or at 208-743-6573. Stop by the mansion — 1816 18th Ave., in Lewiston — for a tour of this National Register of Historic Places-listed site and to see the progress in person. Your support continues to make a difference!

{ 0 comments }