Progress Report

MCC has sent another progress report. So far the window frames and cabinets have been repaired as necessary and primed. The rust inhibitor coating has been removed from almost all the steel pieces. The deteriorated ceiling panels, which are not being saved, have been removed from the steel channel frames, which will be saved and restored. Finally, work has been begun on recreating the garage door. The garage door components have been sorted out and measured in preparation replicating the original door.

The rust-inhibitor paint being removed from the steel panels.

Cabinets awaiting their final coat of paint.

Window frames in the process of being restored.

Work being done on one of the steel frames.

pictures from MCC

Restoration update

There's news from Materials Conservation Collaborative (formerly Milner + Carr) about Rusty! The wooden parts, including the window sashes, window frames, cabinets and closets have been stripped, sanded, primed and are awaiting their final coat of paint. The rust-inhibitor paint that was applied after the original lead paint was removed in 2009 is also being stripped. Most of the ceiling panels were beyond repair, and so have been discarded. However, the u-shaped steel channels that the ceiling was attached to are salvageable. More news to come soon!

Andrew Fearon, an architectural conservator for Milner + Carr, made a time lapse video of Rusty's deconstruction. He set up a camera at the beginning of the project, and combined all the pictures it took into a few minutes. Follow the link below to see the entire process sped up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msZEncOGtTI&feature=youtu.be

Two workers from Milner + Carr returned to the Steel House site this week and did some more work on the foundation. They removed the angle-iron sill from around the perimeter of the concrete slab along with the fireplace hearth. They decided not to do any patching on the foundation until the spring, so they won’t be back in New London for a while.

The College and Milner & Carr also agreed to work orders for restoring the interior steel walls and the metal railings at the perimeter of the garage roof deck. The contractors will repair and paint interior wall panels, joint covers, and the existing railings and will fabricate new pieces for sections of the railing that are missing. This work is in addition to the work spelled out in the original contract with Milner +Carr.

Unfortunately the event I mentioned below has been postponed until after the holidays. I'll try to post information about its rescheduling later.

Doug Royalty, Conn's Preservation Specialist will be giving a talk on the Steel House in New Haven on Sunday, November 13th. The talk is for Conn alumni in the New Haven area, but others are welcome to attend.
It is being hosted at the Lyric Hall and Antiques & Conservation located at 827 Whalley Ave, New Haven, CT. Registration ends Friday November 11th, to register contact Erin Morrissey at 800-888-7549 ext. 2302.