Onawa Public Library
Scope of Work
Location
The History
Project Completion
The Challenge
On May 28th, 2021, Library Director Amy McDermott contacted our office at the suggestion of Iowa’s State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) with regard to fixing a hole in the library’s roof.
The Onawa Public Library is on the National Register of Historic Places. Public funds will be used to make the necessary roof repairs which have recently grown into a complete re-roofing project.
A contractor has already been retained and at this point the SHPO felt compelled to have the Director seek out a preservation architect to confirm or correct the contractor’s plans for re-roofing the library. Director McDermott alluded to other issues of concern regarding the 1908 Prairie Style Library.
The Strategy
Berggren Architects’ preservation architect offered to spend a day on site and the primary focus would be assessment of the roof. Any time available after assessing the roof would be spent assessing the exterior and/or other specific concerns. June 24th was the agreed upon date for this assessment.
It was suggested by Berggren Architects that during that day’s noon lunch, library board members could be invited for an impromptu review of the day’s activities and initial findings.
The Results
The assessment of the roof was broken down into three categories; the shingles, the roof deck, canopy roof and recommendations. Time did permit and the exterior masonry was assessed. It too was broken down into three categories; brick masonry, decorative tile, granite masonry, limestone masonry and recommendations
From damage and deterioration noted while conducting the assessments, it was appropriate to include an assessment of site drainage with recommendations.
The last major exterior element to assess was the exterior wood. Its categories included windows, doors and recommendations. The conclusion of the report prioritized our recommendations and offered suggestions for phasing the corrective measures, sometimes combining recommendations and at other times estimating the remaining useful life of the material which had been assessed.
Related Projects
Our Process
We listen to you
We are preservation architects, let’s get together and talk about your project. Once we know your ideas, we can start your project in the right directions.
We involve you in the planning