You may have seen the front page picture of a new center king post lowering into place published in the Post and Courier on August 5th. That new post is 13 feet long and weighs about 400 pounds. The top of that new post can be seen here covered, around which the roof is being repaired.
To date, the fire damaged interior roof structure is repaired, either using the original material, if it is sound, or new boards that match the old wood. The contractor has sourced old growth pine boards of the same dimensions to make the structure historically correct and in good repair.
The photos show the progress of replacing sheeting with new boards. We appreciate the hard work to bring the tower to this point; work that included removing two layers of old roofing with underlayment that is difficult to remove. In places, the crew had to chisel up the coverings inch-by-inch. The roof covering will be of the same material as the old one, sheet copper with a white coating to prevent green patina from staining the tower.
In addition, a crew is restoring the wooden shutters that are in the window openings of the eight-sided top section of the tower. This is where the bells sound out the call to worship. This crew is also recoating the interior of the entry vestibule.
This week another crew began work on the masonry, starting at the top tier. While we can appreciate the hidden work in the tower roof structure and are secure in the knowledge it is in keeping with the quality of the original construction, we are in anticipation of the beauty of the tower being revealed once again as the work progresses.
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Check on the progress of the Steeple Project here.