Cottage Grove Armory

Armory Entrance.

One of my next projects, the beautiful art deco Cottage Grove Armory building.  Built in 1931 as a National Guard armory and community center.  Oculus has been contracted to restore 35 of the worst windows over the next 10 months.  Cottage Grove is a nice small town a little bit south of Eugene.  It is centrally located in the Willamette Valley.  Here is a link for more information about Cottage Grove.

The windows are typical 6 over 6  and 4 over 4 double-hungs.  One of the details that I really like about them are the weight pocket doors.  I rarely see them cut on the diagonal.  I will post more pictures of these as the restoration progresses. 

Weight pocket door.

Some of the window details that I am not so excited to see is the lack of flashing between the sills and the concrete which has lead to a lot of complete sill failures.  Also the ends of the sills are buried in a small pocket of concrete.  Not so good either.

Sill end rotted out.

Complete sill failure.

Right now the project is in the assessment stage.  So there is a lot of work to be done over spring and summer.  Most of the physical work will happen in the late spring and summer months.  I will be utilizing both epoxy and dutchman repairs so I need those warm temperatures and rainless days.

I want to mention my new camera.  Over the summer I worked on a consulting job where the conservator was using a Panasonic Lumix to photograph windows.  The quality and ease of use promoted me to purchase one recently (and it wasn't too pricey either).  I have to say that I am very pleased with the results so far.  The picture below is a second story window but I shot is from the parking strip.  I still had a lot of zoom left.

Shortly I will post about another exciting project that I will be working on over the next 12 months.   This project will stretch my plane-making skills as I will be making two matched curved and sprung sash planes.  Check back in to see what all that means.  

As a little tease here is the view from the jobsite.

Creative Entrepreneur

I did an interview with Sheri Joi recently.  It can now be accessed on the web at this website.  I talk about my business and some the pros and cons of being a creative entrepreneur.  Give it a listen.

There and Back Again

Well, I made it back to Portland with no problems with the border crossing.  So, I would like to thank everyone that made this trip possible-my family, my friends, two of my clients-waxahatchie and Mrs. J., and the conference staff-  I couldn't have done it without your support.
I have put up the last set of pictures from my Saturday field session.  Most of the pictures of the naval yard are for my parents.  They do love their ships.  Enjoy!

Soon I will be posting about the two large projects that I will be tackling in the next 12 months.

Victoria Pictures

I have added a slideshow to the side bar so you can look at some of the sites.  I will try and add to it daily.  Enjoy!

APT Conference-Victoria

So back in July I was invited to present at the APT Conference in Victoria, B.C.  At the time I thought it was impossible to attend.  The cost alone was very daunting, not to mention finding someone to watch my kids.   But after much discussion we decided it was too good to pass up.  So here I go-off to Victoria.

On my way to Port Angeles.

Port Angeles-it has a lot of murals and Twilight fans.

Goodbye United States

The ferry ride was really something else.  In general I avoid boats, but since Victoria is on an island I had no choice.  I think that the wind was causing the boat to rock around since the water wasn't too rough.  I don't think sitting in the bow helped any either.

On Saturday I will be riding on an even smaller boat.  That should be interesting.

Hello Victoria!

My hotel and conference location.

The side of the hotel my room actually is on.

Victoria Parliament Buildings.

Full Circle

An interesting project came my way this past year.  I was asked to bid on making 3 casement windows for Fort Yamhill.  I had completed work at Fort Dalles the previous year (here is a link to the post about that project) so I thought that working on this fort would be a great addition to my knowledge about Pacific Northwest military outposts.  Little did I know how providential that decision would be.

Original frames for the new casements

Once I was on the project I realized that there was a great deal of research that had been done previously.  I asked the project manager for copies of this material.  Once I received it I noticed that the researcher had labeled some of the documents with the name "Harrington Era".  My "maiden" name is Harrington and I did know that some of my relations did settle and live in the area that Fort Yamhill resides in.  I was more than a bit intrigued.

After searching through my genealogy records and looking at census records on ancestry.com I found out that my great, great uncle Edward Harrington purchased the remaining Fort Yamhill officer's quarters building in the early 1900s.  He was responsible for the drastic remodel that altered the gable roof to the gambrel one you see below (Edward is seen along side his new modern marvel).

Let me tell you it was strange being in the house knowing that my ancestors once inhabited it.

Edward Harrington's house

The bay that I was working in can be seen behind his right shoulder.  The two photos below show how the replicated sash look in the bay.

Interior

Exterior

 This project has a lot of controversy surrounding it and the project has taught me a lot about different historic preservation theory and methodology.

Yaquina Done

After 4 weeks of waiting for material, and 8 weeks of assembly Yaquina Head Lighthouse had itself a new door and jamb.  Now to install it.  

Completed door

Exterior of new door

Installation was fairly basic.  After the door was installed I got to work on the arched transom above the entry.  

Interior of new door

Some interesting pictures of the interior staircase up to the lens.