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What’s behind those lintels?

Breaking News, Preservation, Research, Uncategorized

We’re happy to welcome back to the blog Trish Smith, Drayton Hall’s Preservation Technician. Trish isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty- you might remember earlier this year she blogged about the re-pointing project on the privvy? Well, she’s at it again….chipping away at the stucco to uncover the brownstone lintels behind it. Read on to see what she discovered……

As the team from 4SE (Structural Engineering firm) was conducting their structural assessment of the portico they became concerned about cracks in the stucco covering the lintels.  Their fear was that the cracks in the stucco were indicative of cracks in the brownstone lintels behind it.

Since the lintels are an important part of the structure supporting the second floor of the portico they were anxious to see them and assess their condition.  Joe and I chiseled away the stucco to expose the brownstone in the areas of concern and were happy to discover that the lintels are in great condition!

We are going to make some test batches of stucco before we repair anything, but we intend to fix our patches within the next few months as time and weather allows.