Tight Quarters

Beauport began in 1907 as a ‘small’ summer cottage–roughly 12 rooms– for Henry Davis Sleeper and his mother, Maria Westcott Sleeper.  As interior design commissions came in, Sleeper continued to add to the house over the next 27 years–until he virtually ran out of land.  

To the north of Beauport was the Colonial Arms, a massive 300 room luxury hotel in the Greek Revival style, which blocked most of Sleeper’s northern views.  Mysteriously, the entire hotel burned to the ground in 1908 and the plot sat vacant until the 1920s when Fredrick and Evelyn Hall built “Stone Acre”, a large Victorian constructed out of field stone and topped with beautiful blue-gray slate.  

Sleeper continued to build to the north and constructed one of the last rooms in the house called the North Gallery in 1925.  The Hall’s decided that the only way to stop Sleeper from building over their property line was to construct their own outbuilding and a large stone wall.  The two buildings and stone wall lay within inches of each other– and in one section actually touch. 

It’s a good story to tell but the area is actually extremely difficult to work within.  

The Beauport roof line is within inches of the neighbor's slate roof.

A stone wall was also built along the property line. Beauport's roof line actually touches the wall.

The roofers had to work within very tight quarters to re-shingle at this area-- even using the stone wall as a makeshift tool bench.

Gothic Chimney Finally Dry

The Gothic Chimney at Beauport is located to the northwest on the harbor elevation.  It provides flues for stoves located in the Golden Step Room on the first floor, the Master Mariner’s Room on the second floor, as well as the now defunct boiler in the basement.  The Gothic Chimney is one of six decorative, brick chimneys located at the property.  Although all of the chimneys have shown some signs of moisture infiltration, the Gothic Chimney actively drips water onto the finished surfaces of the interior causing significant damage in the museum space.  

The Gothic Chimney and its curious corner detail

Numerous attempts have been made to repair this chimney–even as a last resort a water repellant was applied in the 90s to no avail.  After a thorough investigation, the problems seem to focus on a curious corner detail and the chimney’s flashing.  The chimney includes two Gothic panels on the west and south but only one on the east.  The north does not include any Gothic panels but has a small bump out at the northwest corner.  The reason for this is unknown– it is possible that the original plan for the chimney was smaller or that an additional flue was needed as an afterthought.  Whatever the reason, the extended corner incorporates an interesting flashing issue at the down slope side of the roof.  In the past, tar was smeared at this corner in an attempt to stop the leak and the flashing has been caulked into place.      

Interior damage from the Gothic Chimney.

During heavy rain storms, a significant amount of water drips from the ceiling at the Golden Step Room.  Collections are moved and fixed pieces–like the stove– are covered with plastic.   Although most sides of this chimney shows water staining on the interior, coincidentally the area of the Golden Step Room leak is in direct line with the curious corner detail as shown above.  Historic images indicate that this leak has been present since the 1920s–though not to the extent it is today.  In the office we joke that this is now a ‘historic leak’ and should be preserved, but we all know that the goal of the roofing and masonry work is to stop the leak. 

The masonry crew begins work at the Gothic Chimney

The masonry team begins work at the Gothic Chimney.  The repairs included repointing at the top corbelling and spot repointing at the base of the chimney as well as reparging at the decorative band and Gothic panels.  The team then started work on the flashing details.

Flashing details at the Gothic Chimney

It is probable that the flashing at the Gothic Chimney was the cause for most of the leaks.  The lead has been installed very low and it is possible that water was easily able to slip into cracks at the flashing joints.  The masonry crew decided to raise up the new lead flashing by two to three brick courses while leaving the existing lead in place.  Once the roof is replaced, this application would ultimately provide triple coverage.  Although this is considered a detail change, the existing lead is still under the new flashing and the detail is completely reversible.

We are very happy to report that the interior has remained completely dry since the repairs!

The completed Gothic Chimney (It's so pretty)!

Terrace Elevation Roof Nearly Complete!

With the daunting task of a 200 square (20,000 square foot) roof, one of the biggest questions was: Where do we start?!  Although the question may seem simple, the conditions of the site are complicated.  The Beauport museum is open to the public on Tuesday through Saturday from June 1 through October 15— pretty much in the middle of prime construction season– and we did not want to close the site at all during the work.  So, not only did the roofers have to deal with Historic New England staff but also 5000 summer visitors. 

Because of the work, most of the summer programs were pushed into August and September, therefore the crew took the opportunity during the months of June and July to begin with one of the most sensitive areas–the terrace (west) elevation.  Once this elevation was completed, the crew could move to the north side of the building away from the terraces during the events while also avoiding the front entrance on the east elevation where the tours begin.

The terrace elevation before work.

Removing the massive amount of shingles at the terrace elevation.

The roofers would only remove areas that could be re-shingled within a week. Once the shingles were removed paper was used to keep the area water tight.

Copper replacement at the dormer shelves.

The work on the terrace roof in process. Windows were covered to protect them during work.

The nearly completed terrace elevation roof!

Bishop’s Cap Chimney Repaired

The roof and masonry work is in full swing now.  It is exciting to see some work completed– especially with the pesky chimneys.  Beauport includes six decorative chimneys— all of which are experiencing leaks.  The masons have completed two of the six chimneys and are currently prepping two others for work.  This is the story of Bishop’s Cap Chimney– 

The Bishop’s Cap name comes from the fact that the cap takes on the appearance of a bishop’s hat.  It provides two flues for fireplaces located in the China Trade Room on the first floor and the Strawberry Hill Room on the second floor.  In order to understand the issues with this chimney a thorough investigation was conducted.  The interior spaces were inspected to see where and how the leaks were forming.  In one of the rooms next to this chimney a significant amount of plaster work has cracked and failed indicating severe moisture infiltration.  On the exterior, cracking can be seen in both the cap and the lead flashing.  The scope of work for repairs included– re-parging cap; spot repointing the base; and repairs to the lead flashing.   

The Bishop’s Cap Chimney before work started.

A conditions assessment was conducted on the interior and exterior to determine repair options.

The issues included cracking at the cap and lead flashing.

The chimney was thoroughly cleaned so that the crew could reapir the cracks.

The cracks in the cap were scored and cleaned. The base of the chimney was protected during the work.

New parging was applied and smoothed out.

The cap was covered with a canvas cloth to slow down the drying process. This helps prevent cracking in the new material.

The newly repaired Bishop’s Cap chimney!