Project Photos
See photos from these projects: Asbestos Abatement, and Mortar Repair. More projects and photos in the years to come!
A licensed asbestos abatement contractor removed asbestos from the ancient, unused boilers and still-in-use steam pipes in the boiler room in September 2012. The contractor also scraped flaking paint from the brick walls and sealed the walls with a special sealant. A second round of abatement -- on the steam pipes in the utility tunnel under the church -- will take place in 2013. Before and after photos:
We've sealed the hundreds of small holes in the mortar on the exterior of the building, using a special sealant recommended by masons and by The Rev. John Runkle, an historical architect and former conservator at the National Cathedral. We hired an unemployed member of the Misa Alegria (our Spanish-language congregation) to do the work. (Read more about this project on the Roof and Facade Work page.)
Angel, at work on the front of the church.
Another small hole being filled. Many of the holes are at the top of a row of bricks; when the building was built, masons placed nails in these locations and ran a string between them to ensure the row of bricks was level. They removed the nails but due to the smallness of the holes were unable to fill them completely with mortar, and over time the holes reopened. Many other holes were between bricks that were placed very close together, with insufficient space for the normal amount of mortar--such as the area below the hole Angel is filling.
In the church: an area of damaged plaster. Below, the exterior at the same location.
The damaged plaster on the inside of the church is directly behind this area, where Angel filled seven holes. The second one from the top was quite large.
Most likely the plaster damage was due to water working its way through the wall from some or all of these holes.