Soda Blasting a Cushwa Brick Fireplace

deGruchy Masonry used Armex baking soda today to remove soot and smoke from a Cushwa brick interior fireplace. This house addition, which is an extension to a historic stone schoolhouse, (ca 1840), was a complete loss in a fire that happened this year. The owner who has lived there 45 years is rebuilding! She’s “old school” and won’t let the loss get in her way. She plans to rise up from the ashes and save the old schoolhouse and her home.

Lancaster Central Market Wins Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award using Natural Hydraulic Lime

Congratulations to the city of Lancaster and Hammel Associates Architects, LLC. They were recently awarded for the restoration of the Lancaster Central Market in Lancaster, PA. Located in the middle of downtown, this space has been used as a market since 1730 and is said to be the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the country. The market structure was designed by architect James Warner and constructed in 1889 of locally produced red brick on top of a brownstone base. The market was named one of America’s top ten “Great Public Spaces in America” by the American Planning Association in 2009.

Many efforts were made in the recent rehabilitation project to restore the market’s elements including the original windows and doors. The damaged bricks were replaced and the building was repointed with Natural Hydraulic Lime 3.5 and deGruchy’s Ecologic® Mortar provided by LimeWorks.us  as a complementary mortar to the original lime mortar of 1889.

These appropriate historic restoration techniques worked to bring the market back to its original glory for the enjoyment by generations to come.

Closed for Restoration

The New York Auxiliary Monument is currently closed for restoration in Gettysburg, PA. This is just one of the monuments which has incorporated materials from LimeWorks.us.

A few links with information on the monument…

http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/NY/NYstateAux.php

http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/State_of_New_York_Auxiliary_Monument_(Gettysburg)