Does lightning strike twice!

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More than ornament, lightning rods played an important role in building safety for over a century and long before the invention of electricity.  DKA is restoring such a structure.  American lightning rods in the 18^th century were pointed like this one while the British counterparts thought a metal ball at the tip was more likely to attract the lightning charge.

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Apparently, lightning strikes twice often, because it was common in the late 18^th and early 19^th Century to add 4 1/2” decorative glass balls to the top of lightning rods to inform the owners if their barn had been struck by lightning.  The lightning strike would break the glass and the owner would know to check the conductor cable and ground connection, as well the structure, for damage.  Restoration is underway on four lightning rod terminals that adorn the historic Hendrickson-Atchly Farmstead (shown above) as one small part of the 18^th Century Farmhouse historic restoration.  Two lightning rod terminals were somewhat intact and two terminals were badly damaged and missing components.

Dennis Kowal Architects did not want to lose this piece of history and determined to restore the lightning rod terminals.  After showing the existing broken rods to a blacksmith, the firm was told that they couldn’t be re-tapered.  It was suggested that tapered rods could be duplicated by working from new material.  Dennis Kowal, preferring restoration over duplication, said “If specialized blacksmith skills are needed to restore the lightning rods, I will learn those skills and restore the rods myself.  This piece of history should be saved and not lost or replaced with a modern look-alike if at all possible.”

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First invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1749, the lightning rod works by allowing the lightning charge to reach the ground through an external cable that is isolated from the structure. (Note how the cable is held off the metal roof by ceramic stand-offs.)  Without this diversion, the lightning would pass through the less conductive elements of a building like the timber.   Lightning that uses the wood superstructure for grounding super heats the wood moisture as it attempts to pass through and causes destruction and fire.		This Kretzer Brand lightning rod is missing some isolators, the glass ball, and the vertical tip also known as the Franklin rod or air terminal.   It was hoped that two badly degraded lighting rod terminals could be restored.   After no success in finding someone able to repair the existing lightning rods, DKA decided to restore them with their own hands.
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Dennis J. Kowal AIA,  apprenticed as a blacksmith in Guillford Connecticut to master the art of re-making the missing iron components.		The lightning rod is inspected for missing components and damaged welds.  Work begins by re-forging the missing pointed air terminal.
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Pieces of 100 year iron from abandoned cabling in the original lightning grounding were reclaimed for reworking into the air terminals.  The iron was heated in a coal forge to 2500 degrees which allowed it to be drawn and re-shaped.		Dennis drew the ends to a taper and then forged a point.   The metal can only be worked a few seconds at a time before it must be reheated; otherwise the metal fractures instead of yields.

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Kretzer Brand lightning rods were manufactured in St. Louis Missouri.  The glass balls came in dozens of colors and finishes to personalize the lightning rods and were often sold by salesmen traveling from farm to farm by horse and carriage. The glass globes in this project were actually clear when originally installed and are a bit rare.   Today, collectors value and collect these glass globes.  The lightning rods on this house were probably installed in the early 1900’s because they match the patent drawing from the Kretzer company from about this time period.  Nearly finished, the lightning rod now has ceramic isolators, a glass ball, and a restored air terminal.

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Thomas Edison endorses the concept of a lightning rod in this letter used in a 1919 Michigan Cass City Chronicle newspaper ad stating “…I would say that in my opinion a building may be protected from lightning by a properly installed system of continuous conductors of ample capacity, WELL INSULATED FROM THE BUILDING.”		Sidney D. Kretzer received patent number 42173 in 1912 for this lightning rod which matches the design of the rod on the Atchely Farmstead.  Sometimes weather vanes and attractor balls were added to the top.  There have been over 329 patents for lightning rods since the 1850’s.

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Contrary to popular belief, lighting rods do not “attract” lightning any more than the plumbing vents, old TV antennas, or any other roof structure.  Instead, lightning rods re-direct the energy (when lightning does strike) keeping it outside of the structure and running it safely to ground.  Church steeples, often the highest point in town, do have a deserved reputation for being struck by lightning.  Early Americans knew to stay away from them during storms.

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS are preservation architects that are serious about preserving the great and small buildings of our history.

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Unrelated advertisement below;  Please leave a comment about this blog in the comment box below the advertisement or click on more stories from the category list at the upper left top of this blog.

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Windstorms and Preservation

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The scroll that was blown off in the storm that left many on the east coast without power for days sat atop the dome (the scrolls are the bumps directly surrounding the cupola).  This view of the Handley Library is from the property of George Washington who surveyed this site and then owned the land until his death.

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70 mile an hour winds ripped through historic Winchester, Virginia on Friday, 29 June 2012 and lifted weighted wedding tents off the ground, destroyed trees and left its mark on the restored Handley Regional Library.  Dennis Kowal Architects (DKA) completed the full renovation of this important building with a copper dome and limestone façade in 2001 and was on site to examine the damage the following Friday.   “Fortunately, the damage was limited to one copper scroll which was blown loose from the dome and some missing bird deterrents”.     Prior to the DKA renovation,  several  other scrolls blew free and were found in back yards of neighboring buildings.  These were recovered, repaired and re-installed under the direction DKA.  The recent loss was also recovered;  a little mangled but not damaged beyond repair.  The scrolls are decorative and so the copper dome remained weather tight during the storm.

“We had to design and fabricate a new scroll in 2001 to replace the permanently lost scroll” said Dennis Kowal.  The scroll is about three feet long and 18” high and is fabricated from 20 oz. copper.   Unfortunately, this makes them a light-weight, hollow box that can be carried by the wind if the solder points break.  The original scrolls are attached by nine points of spot solder,  while the new scroll is more generously attached.

The wind-blown scroll will be repaired and replaced  to again takes its place in the center of town.  Only a few human hands in history have touched this scroll since it sits 75 feet above the street at the very peak of the 36’ diameter dome.

A distraught Library Director, Trish Ridgeway, feigns regret over the damaged copper scroll that was blown off the restored Handley Library.  The scroll will be repaired and re-installed.	.                                                                                                                                                                                                                               .	One of the spot welds from the damaged scroll can be seen as a quarter-sized silver  button at the center of the photo.  The weld split off clean at the attachment point to the copper dome sheeting indicating that the surface was not properly cleaned of oils or that the substrate copper was not made  hot enough during the fusing process.
Before the renovation, the copper was more rust -red than verdigris green; the result of chemical interaction with years of pigeon guano.  . .		Dennis Kowal Architects designed a copper replica of a missing 36” scroll which once crowned the Handley Copper Dome.  It is a match to the one recently blown off.   The new copper has been pre-aged by using a commercial patina formula (ammonium sulfate, copper sulfate, and concentrated ammonia)  which will quickly turn the copper  to verdigris green (like the cap flashing beneath).  Of course, putting shiny copper in a jar with a layer of kitty litter soaked in pure ammonia is a trick used by jewelry makers and artists to do the same thing.
A “derecho” (a violent and long-lived windstorm) swept  the mid-Atlantic coast causing destruction, death and  power loss to millions for days during the heat wave.  Many trees and major limbs fell in the historic  Mt. Hebron Cemetery just a few blocks from the Handley Library.		Stewart Barney was the original architect of the Mt. Hebron Cemetery Gatehouse (1901) and the Handley Regional Library (1913), both in Winchester, Virginia.  This Cemetery also suffered wind damage but the Gatehouse appears intact.

For a variety of old formulas to patinate copper check out www.sciencecompany.com/-W160.aspx

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS preserves historic buildings.

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Restoring the Homes of the ”One-percenters”…in Turkey 1AD!

The Terrace houses (on-going excavation and restoration under the protective cover) can be seen just opposite The Hadrian Temple in the ancient city of Ephesus.  The arches in the distance are the façade of the Celsus Library which contained 12,000 scrolls.

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One of the most remarkable finds since Pompeii is under restoration in Ephesus.  Once a major Roman port city in Western Asia, the city ruins are a wonderful map of life from 1 c. BC to 4 c. AD when this bustling port city enjoyed financial success and virtually invented the concept of banking, coins and credit cards.

Of particular note are the Terrace Houses which have recently been uncovered.  They were private homes of the wealthy (1 percenters) which were tiered as three levels of attached homes buried into the side of Bulbul Mountain.  The homes have no windows but instead are built around a center, open, courtyard (called a peristyle).    While the average home in the United States is around 2,500 sf, the largest of these private dwellings is 10,000 square feet.

The walls contain frescos decorated in subject matter selected by the head of the household (as opposed to the choice of the artist) which reveals the values and aesthetics of these families.  Some of the walls contain seven layers of frescos since a new “style” would evolve every couple of generations and the house would be redecorated.

Restoration involves stabilizing the frescos so they don’t fall from the walls, matching in mortar where pieces are missing, cleaning the paint that is exposed and in some cases recreating the missing painting.  In addition, thousands of broken pieces of wall marble and hundreds of thousands small floor mosaic tiles are being sorted and reassembled.

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Dennis Kowal observing the restoration techniques used to preserve this spectacular find during a private visit. More damage was done by the elements after the houses were uncovered than by being buried for a dozen centuries under the earth.  Therefore, a 4000 s.m. weather-protective enclosure has been installed over the entire site and glass floored catwalks navigate around the six homes.	.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            .	A great view of the peristyle and the vaulted “Reception Room” that the family would use to greet their guests.  The floors were covered in mosaics and marble and the task of matching the broken fragments is underway.
The multiple layers of painted frecos can be observed in the lower right corner of this photo.  The restoration approach is to leave this legacy of ownership and decoration.  The Romans were no different from today’s homeowners who redecorated by covering the former occupants tastes.  At the back wall are the heads of two philosophers with many holes in the surface.	.                                                                    .	Detail of the philosopher fresco with his name still written above.  The fact that philosophers and gods adorned the homes reveals what was important to the family just as a poster of a famous rock star in a bedroom or a wall of family photos would today.

The first floor contained the family rooms for relaxing, eating and entertaining.  None of the rooms had windows except for the borrowed light coming in from the courtyard.  Entry was from a wide staircase that climbed the mountain alongside the attached homes.	.                                                                                            .	Mosaics of Dionysius and Ariadne show the incredible skill of the artists and wealth of the owners.  Money flowed to Ephesus because it acted as a central banking system for the greater Mediterranean region.
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Family rooms surround the peristyle of this home with bedrooms located on the second level. Clay pipes carried heat under the floors and to the bathrooms just like the Roman baths. While we are used to seeing the palaces of the ruling class, this is a rare glimpse into the lifestyle of wealthy citizens in early times.

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HISTORIC PRESERVATION Parthenon Restoration

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It took less than ten years to build the Parthenon but restoration is taking 37 years and counting.

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The Parthenon was built of marble in 447 BC and acted as a treasury building for the Aegean League of City States.  The word Parthenon means “virgin”  but originally it was just called “The Temple” or the “100 foot house”.   A statue of the goddess Athena  occupied  the center of the Temple and was carved by the same famous sculptor who designed the Parthenon itself,   Pheidias.

Every architect studies the Parthenon as an example of the perfection of proportion.  But it is the nuances of every inch of the design that creates this proportion.  All of the columns lean slightly to an imaginary point in the sky, end columns are spaced closer to each other,  column shafts bulge slightly at the middle almost to emphasize the load, and the faces of the Parthenon fit into “the golden rectangle”.

Thus, despite rows of seemingly identical columns, no two parts are interchangeable anywhere in the structure.  Restoration crews  must keep track of the  70,000 separate original pieces that have fractured a hundred times over because each piece only fits correctly in one place.  A bad restoration in 1898 by Greek architect, Nikolas Balanos used untreated iron clamps to secure the failing structure which then expanded as they rusted;  fragmenting the marble.  Even the original architects of the Parthenon, Iktinos and Kallikrates, knew to coat the original iron pins and clamps with lead.  Today restoration architects are using titanium pins.

The temple was attacked by the Venetians when under Ottaman rule and they triggered the ammunitions hidden inside causing major destruction.  Bits and pieces of the Parthenon have recently been discovered in the fortress walls of the acropolis that were erected in the 1800′s.  These bits are being identified, removed and mapped into the existing structure by a computer identification program (like a technological jig-saw puzzle program).

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Permanently missing pieces are painstakingly reproduced in marble and reinserted as can be seen from the whiter Marble above.                              .   Restoration crews chipping off poor repairs.           Earlier restorations put pieces in the wrong location.  These pieces are removed, stored and placed correctly when the time comes.       The triangular pediment frieze contained sculptures that fit neatly within. Behind is the massive counterweight for the crane which folds in half and tucks away when not in use. . Restoration of the Parthenon has been difficult because the earlier restoration mistakenly placed some of the fragments into the wrong locations.  Removal and relocation was not that simple since the remaining structure has weakened and not able to survive the surgery without the invention and approval of some new bonding agents.  New methods for carving the flutes into the replacement column pieces and other carvings has helped to quicken the current pace.  The computer has been a great aid in matching pieces but still the human eye is often the final judge.   The Acropolis has a series of tents for carving the marble and a full time crew of restoration technicians who raise and lower the pieces. .  The 18th c. fortress borrowed broken fragments from the Parthenon to build the massive 65’ tall walls. Restoration architects floated tethered weather balloons and cameras to record the surface of the wall to find the Parthenon fragments.                        .                                              .   Earthquakes are a reoccurring problem for the Parthenon.  The original architects knew to place lead sheets between the drums that compose the columns to absorb some of the shock.

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I sketched my first in-person view of the Parthenon.  The top of the famous temple was peeking above the walls of the acropolis  (as viewed across the stone 5000 seat theatre of Atticus).

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The Declaration of Independence was brought here but so was a Crèche.

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The later period walnut and oak wooden interior paneling and decorative carvings have been described by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office as the best existing examples of the Art Nouveau Style (1880-1914) in the State of New Jersey.

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Hendrick Fisher House is the oldest structure in Somerset County with the original construction dating back to 1688.  Dennis Kowal Architects provided preservation documents for this fine house that is decorated for Christmas each year.  As the New Jersey representative to the Continental Congress, Fisher brought back a signed copy of the Declaration of Independence to this very house (near Bound Brook) the day after the famous signing.

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Hendrick Fisher was one of four men so hated by the British, that he was excluded from an offer of pardon to patriots who surrendered.  The British ransacked this farmstead during the Revolutionary War.   Hendrick went on to be the first President of Rutgers College (Queens College).

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		The Fisher House is owned by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and is open by appointment for Christmas viewing.

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A Train Station Harry Potter would love!

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The historic Bound Brook eastbound train station is about to be restored by DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS.   Open web trusses that support an old-style corrugated metal roof that spans the platform and a brick and tile waiting room will be saved from further deterioration and restored to their original splendor.

Preservation plans by DKA were approved by the State Historic Preservation Office, New Jersey Transit, and the Department of Transportation and construction will begin this winter.  The Central Jersey Railroad began in 1830 and eventually extended from Scranton to the Jersey City Terminal with Ferry Crossing to New York City.  Hundreds of commuters still use the New Jersey Transit Line each day.  Old documents report that the important Bound Brook Station accommodated 1,700 passengers per day and over 100,000 tons of freight each year at its peak.  When the line was extended across the Delaware River in 1856 to connect to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company a third rail was added to adjust for the two different gauges of track used by the DL&W line (broad gauge) and the CNJ (standard gauge).

DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS provided materials analysis to match brick, mortar, interior tiles and terracotta.  Their design will restore the platform and eastbound waiting room to its original condition.   Planning is complicated by the fact that trains will pass within inches of the renovation during construction.

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Earthquake Analysis

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Preservation Architect Dennis Kowal had just surveyed the Hoboken Library exterior (with the help of the Hoboken Fire Department Ladder Truck) prior to the earthquake creating a great baseline for comparison.

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At approximately 2pm EST on August 23rd 2011, the shock wave of a  5.9 earthquake centered 40 miles north of Richmond, Virginia reached the New York City area causing a slight movement to the ground which affected different buildings and different geological formations in varying ways.

DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS was immediately deployed to the historic Hoboken Public Library to examine the structure for safe occupancy and stabilization recommendations, if required.  The public and staff experienced a severe shaking of the building for forty five seconds and books fell off shelves, paint chips came off ceilings, windows rattled loud enough to break, and chandeliers swayed.

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It was feared that these decorative five foot tall urns at the top of the three story Hoboken Library were shaken loose. Remarkably, these showed no new signs of fracture.		A vertical crack in an adjacent building may have resulted from movement of the structures. Vertical cracks and reports of falling plaster just inside this same area were reported by the staff of the Library.

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There were four areas of concern.

1. The free-standing decorative urns seen surrounding the dome may have come  loose (they didn’t)

2. The cracks in the plaster walls may have signified a dangerous structural shift (they didn’t)

3. The observed loose lighting fixture was indicative of a pervasive condition (it wasn’t ). and

4. The previously noted cracks in the terracotta exterior may have deepened or reduced the attachment integrity (they didn’t)

The Hoboken Library is under restoration by DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS.  The firm helped obtain a $1.5 million grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust.

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A light fixture broke loose during the quake and separated from the original tin ceiling.		In years prior, some terracotta cornice pieces disengaged and it was feared that more of the building may have rattled loose.

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The Hoboken library was the first library built in New Jersey under the 1894 General Library Act. The Italian Renaissance-style Library has served the community in the same building for 114 years.

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Earthquakes, Floods, and Wind Storms

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caption under image Every truss was compromised in some way. Shear fractures above resulted from the roof weighing down, pushing out the bearing walls and literally pulling these bottom chords apart.

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS  have been busy making house calls after a string of disasters.  It began in January when wind and snow loads contributed to the near collapse of the sanctuary roof at the Glen Rock Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.   Dennis Kowal was asked his opinion about some hairline cracks in the plaster ceiling that had been developing over the years in a building designed by others.  After a trip through the attic truss structure,  Dennis asked everyone to leave the building because the roof structure was completely compromised.  What did he find?   Every one of the wooden roof trusses was split or fractured leaving very little holding up the gabled roof and heavy plaster ceiling which perched over the 200 worshippers.  “Either under-design or overloading caused the roof structure to fail.  This was a frightening find.  I wasn’t even sure the structure would hold me walking across it. Never was there a clearer condition for immanent danger to the occupants.  God protected everyone … this could have been catastrophic.”    Fortunately, a truss repair contractor was a member of the congregation and the church was closed for nine months while new steel trusses were slipped between the failed existing wood trusses.   The stabilized sanctuary will reopen 23 October.

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		Extensive shoring and scaffolding was necessary to make the repairs without completely removing the roof.
The beautiful curved plaster ceiling of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was suspended from wooden trusses that had no remaining structural integrity.
The pastor and members of the building committee were briefed as to how the scissor trusses were failing.

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Wagon House Ribbon Cutting

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During an October 1st ribbon cutting ceremony,  restoration architect Dennis J. Kowal AIA LEED AP and his associate Stephen Malyszka, reminded attendees that only 600 pure Dutch-style constructed barns remain in the United States and they were proud to have preserved this one.   Gratitude was expressed to the hard-working members of the Hillsborough Historic Commission, whose tenacity resulted in saving this barn from permanent deterioration.  The owner of the barn, Interstate Development, paid for the restoration as a key element of their site improvements for their new retail center.  Another larger barn on the same site awaits restoration.

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The wagon house sat idle for years. Moisture and openings led to rot and a 15 degree tilt in the structure before restoration.		This 1790 wagon house is one among only a few remaining intact structures of its kind.
Artifacts recovered during the restoration include this “Private Stock-Raritan Club” whiskey bottle from Raritan, New Jersey.		The hay loft with a mix of original and restoration lumber.

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Senator Kip Bateman, Hillsborough Mayor Sherre McGowan and preservation architect, Dennis Kowal are about to enter the hay loft.

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Dating a historic structure by the nails

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First you must determine whether the nails were original to the structure.  Once you have found original construction and the nails used, the actual manufacture characteristics of the nails will reveal roughly when the nails were made.  The following is an actual case study of dating by nails.  However, the nails alone are not absolute proof,  just one of many clues.   When enough clues converge, you can begin to bracket the years of construction.   The following is an actual example from examination of the Ditmars Polhemus Wagon House in Hillsborough, New Jersey.   Our Preservation Plan explains:

Some of the weathered boards were removed at the shared wall between the wagon house and the single story shed.  It is likely that some of the existing boards are original to the structure.  Some of the boards were removed to investigate the nail patterns.  The boards contained two square nails in vertical alignment at each post.  These nails aligned with the nails and pattern in the boards above and below indicating an even, singular and original nailing pattern.  When the nails and board were removed, no other holes were evident beneath in the post.  The nails appeared to be machine cut with a hammered head.  Since the siding boards and nails appear to be the first and only application where examined, it is likely that these were the original nails and boards.  Repair nails would have left clues.

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS restored the 1790 Ditmars Polhemus Wagon House in 2011.		The original clapboard siding and nails remain protected behind a series of additions.
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If true, this dates the original wagon house by virtue of when machine nails were available in the region;  some say this would be no earlier than 1790.  The removed nails were tapered on two sides and flat on two sides (indicating a cut nail and not a blacksmith nail) and the cuts appear to be in opposite directions (typical of the Type A or earlier cut nail from 1790-1830).  The heads are rectangular and tapered (two-way, not four-way) and not flat like the later period, single-blow, machine nail heads.  Therefore, the findings are consistent with earlier reports which stated that the wagon house could date to the late eighteenth century.    In addition, a will, which listed the barns and their sizes, included a barn with dimensions that match this barn; confirming a barn of this size existed in this time frame of 1790 to 1830.

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