Set in Stone Gears Up for Phase 4

2024 is a grant-writing year. Today we submitted a Round 30 Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund (MPPF) grant request to the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Our proposed work for Set in Stone Phase 4 addresses the next most urgent area of deterioration: the West tower wall.

Tucked around the back, away from Central Street, and facing Pleasant Street, the West tower wall is not readily noticed. But a close look at it reveals major areas of missing mortar, cracks, and shifting of stones. The clover-shaped trefoil window also has open areas around it. We’ve had the window patched from the inside – a temporary and partial fix. All of this leads to water ingress: the biggest enemy of any building.

The MPPF process is a matching grant program, and we are eternally grateful to the Robinson-Broadhurst Foundation for having promised us the necessary matching funds.
The grant application is rigorous, requiring engineering reports, repair plans, budgets and detailed photographs. The application also asked for letters of community support. We were most grateful to obtain letters from the Winchendon History and Cultural Center, the Town of Winchendon Building Commissioner, the Community Action Committee, Toy Town AA, the Winchendon Courier, Our Neighbor’s Kitchen diners, and the Winchendon Historic Commission. We thank all of these folks for their kind words.
We’ll hear back from MHC in June, and all fingers are crossed until then. We sincerely hope you will see the now-familiar scaffolding gracing our building this time next year.

Interior Sanctuary Repairs

With our roof “valley” now watertight, we turned our attention to long-awaited interior repairs. Painters Pride, Inc., a company specializing in interior work for historic churches, came to the rescue. They repaired a large area of water stain in one ceiling panel, and reconstructed 24’ of deteriorated plaster molding. A total of six ceiling panels were primed and repainted. The entire south wall was primed and repainted, along with all of the trim around the south-facing stained glass windows.
Painters Pride took care to protect our beautiful black walnut pews, draping everything in tarps and plastic. The ladder work was not for the faint of heart: extra-long extension ladders with “spotters” were used to reach the highest points of the work areas. The crew worked full days and finished the job in just one week.
We now have a gleaming, clean south wall free of stains, cracks and dirt. We are tempted to paint even more!

Phase 3 Crosses the Finish Line

We have yet one more major step of our building restoration in our rear-view mirror. On July 28 we submitted our Completion Report to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for Phase 3 of our Set in Stone masonry repairs.
We have a new cricket, copper flashing, and a completely repointed north tower face. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this project was the “water test” to which the area was subjected. In addition to the torrential rains we’ve already been experiencing, a crew took hoses up on the roof and aimed high-pressure spray at every nook and cranny imaginable. We were thrilled to see nary a drop of water entering the sanctuary after this rigorous assault.
While much of this work cannot be seen from the ground, Phase 3 marks a significant step in our building preservation.

Flashing Installed

We’ve all seen the orange lift parked in various positions alongside the church tower for some weeks now. Phase 1 and 2 repairs featured obvious masonry repairs to the East face of our building. Phase 3 repairs, while just as important, are more…discreet. The valley area between our bell tower and main building, not viewable from the ground, was completely torn out and rebuilt with a slightly steeper pitch. This was covered with extensive sheets of copper flashing with thickly soldered seams.

The north face of the tower was entirely repointed, and an area of the roof retiled. We are happy to be nearing the end of this Phase and ensuring a watertight roof once again.

Calhess Begins Phase 3 Repairs

…and they’re off! Calhess Restoration & Waterproofing Corporation arrived bright and early Wednesday morning to begin work on the north tower face and valley. Most of their work is accessible by a lift (as opposed to erecting extensive scaffolding). First they’ll be clearing out all of the old, cracked mortar from the north tower face and will repoint most all of that surface. The bright orange and yellow lift will be a constant sight for the next several weeks.

We have a new Preservation Works! sign listing both Calhess and Spencer Preservation Group as our Contractor and Architect, respectively, for this phase of the project.

“Pipes and Platter” Celebration Event on April 16

Save the date! The stars have aligned, and we are finally able to schedule a long-awaited and much overdue celebration of the progress we have made on our Set in Stone building restoration. We have a double line-up on Sunday, April 16.

First, we will be showcasing our beautiful 1868 E. & G.G. Hook pipe organ in concert at 4:00 pm. Guest Organist George Bozeman will be at the keyboard performing the Chorales of J.S. Bach in an hour-long program. Admission to the concert is free.

Second, concert attendees will have the option of enjoying a special 4-course sit-down dinner in our Parish Hall following the concert. Diners will have the opportunity to sit and chat with Mr. Bozeman over a delicious menu prepared by UUCW’s Our Neighbor’s Kitchen chefs. We will also be acknowledging our supporters of our Set in Stone campaign, without whom we could not have made such significant progress.

Tickets are required for the 4-course dinner at $15 per person ($8 for age 10 and under). They will be sold at the entrance to the Parish Hall following the concert. We encourage advance purchase of dinner tickets at our web site:

uucw.ncmuuc.org

Calhess Restoration Selected for Phase 3 Tower Cricket Repair

UUCW was fortunate to receive five excellent and competitive bids for our Phase 3 Tower Cricket Repairs. The Massachusetts Historical Commission reviewed the contractor bid tabulations and recommendations from Spencer Preservation Group for the best value and qualified bidder. We collectively identified Calhess Restoration & Waterproofing Corporation of Westwood, Massachusetts as the preferred contractor for this phase of work.

Calhess Restoration & Waterproofing Corp. has been in business for over 68 years providing a range of services including Brick and Stone restoration, Commercial Waterproofing, Garage and Concrete Restoration and Waterproofing, Sealants, Caulking, Grouting, and General Contacting and Consulting to the greater New England area. Some of their historic restoration work includes the Marblehead, MA Town Hall; Concord, MA Town Hall; Fort Sewell in Marblehead, MA; and Fort Hill Tower in Boston, MA. For more information see their website: http://calhesscorp.com/

We have contacted Calhess and they have accepted our offer to move forward with them on the contract. We plan to schedule work as soon as feasible in Spring 2023.

We appreciate everyone who expressed interest in our beautiful historic building.