Day Six

Today the remainder of the roof decking and insulation was removed. This fully exposed the steel roof panels, and along with them all the corrosion holes in the roof. The insulation was packed into garbage bags and put in the dumpster. There was about six inches of insulation inside the roof, and there are several inches in-between the walls, which allowed the house to be comfortable during all seasons for the people who lived there. The house was airtight enough to retain heat in the winter, and was actually more efficient than many other contemporary houses, however condensation that formed on the inner walls of the house did contribute to the rust problems.

The metal railings around the perimeter of the garage roof were detached from the roof panels, disassembled and labeled. The area over the garage was originally a rooftop terrace that was accessed by a metal ladder attached to the garage wall adjacent to the back door.

Once the metal railing was removed, the Milner + Carr Conservation group started to disassemble the steel cornice pieces. These are the metal caps on the top of the exterior wall panels that were joined to the walls and the roof. Like the metal railings, each of the steel cornice pieces removed was labeled. It is very important to label each of the parts so they can be put back together in the correct locations after the restoration.

The frames for the steel roof panels were disassembled and labeled. The sheet metal ceiling sections that were extremely corroded and completely unsalvageable were removed from the frames and not included in the labeling. They will have to be replaced during the rehabilitation, with newly made pieces in their places when the house is reassembled.

On the interior, some of the joint covers were removed and labeled. The joint covers span the crack between two wall panels and link adjoining panels, forming a smoother seam. They all need to be removed before individual panels can be taken down.

In addition to all the work done on the house, an Associated Press reporter visited today, and will be writing a story covering the restoration project. There was also a radio reporter who visited. Hopefully their visits will help raise awareness of the project, and educate more people about the importance of the Steel House.