Spring 2021 Preservation Update with Trish Smith

DRAYTON HALL PRESERVATION UPDATE
by Trish Lowe Smith
Curator Of Historic Architectural Resources

As you read this, an 82-foot lift creeps slowly around Drayton Hall. Turkey vultures shuffle along the ridge of the roof until men appear at the eaves sending the raptors away with great indignant flaps of their wings, and the familiar sounds of bird chatter and cars crunching along the gravel road are occasionally punctuated by the metallic clank-clank-clank of extension ladders being hoisted into place. The ordinary sights and sounds of Drayton Hall have been disrupted, somewhat, but only temporarily and for a good cause.

Roofers, painters, glaziers, carpenters, electricians, and structural engineers are converging on Drayton Hall this spring because you, our supporters, have enabled us to complete a number of critical preservation projects on the main house, privy, caretaker’s house, and the decorative ironwork on the brick well.

Nearly 50 feet above ground, a crew works on the terne-coated metal roof of the main house. All three of our historic buildings have metal roofs with many useful years ahead of them, but only if they’re properly maintained. On the main house and privy, the waterproof coatings on the metal are failing and need to be cleaned and re-coated. In some areas, the gravity-defying effects of capillary action have caused the water to infiltrate the roof from the underside, rotting large sections of wood in hard-to-see places. To remedy this, the roofers are peeling back sections of the metal to expose and repair the rotten material.

Also working at sometimes dizzying heights, a crew of painters are removing cracked and peeling paint, scrubbing away mold and mildew, and reglazing windows. When the new glazing has cured, they’ll return to apply fresh paint to the wood, and limewash to the stone columns.

Inside the main house, you’ll find structural engineers working with us to strengthen the mahogany staircase and to understand the capacity of the roof to withstand strong storms. While downstairs in the cellar, Drayton Hall staff are preparing the house for electrical, security, and telecom upgrades designed to better protect the building and enhance the visitor experience.

Over at the historic caretaker’s house, we were able to tackle several preservation projects in 2017-18, but some of the exterior wood siding has succumbed to wood rot since that work was completed, and a new brick pier has settled in a way that calls for some intervention. Those repairs will begin in mid-May, at which time the sounds of hammers will echo intermittently across the landscape along with the other sounds of preservation in progress.

We expect this bevy of preservation projects to conclude before you start prepping your BBQ grills for 4th of July celebrations, but it’s not July yet, and May is dedicated to a different kind of celebration—it’s Preservation Month! So, for the next few weeks, let’s consider all the extra clanging and banging to be the sounds of good stewardship–a joyful noise celebrating the great things we can accomplish together!