Harris Pargework Ceiling

Harris county Courthouse Pargework Ceiling

Old Historic ceiling

Last year I told you about this ceiling at the Harris County courthouse.

( See blog) Hard to believe it was over a year ago. We have now made molds of the elements, cast all the items needed to recreate the ceiling and installed the pieces. The ceiling was framed in and plastered, and finished in a slick white coat finish by Golden West Plastering of Houston Texas. They did an exceptional job. We typically like to control all the plastering as it is hard to find plasterers that understand how to plaster a ceiling that is flat and true to plane, any imperfections will make it tough to install the pieces but in this case the work was perfect.

In this photo we have laid out control lines to install all the pieces to. It is extremely important to flow the lines as any deviation will show up as you look down the ceiling.

After checking the layout and making sure all the electrical devices as well as the fire sprinklers will fit into the pattern correctly we start installing the pieces. After installing all the pieces we will “tool up” the joints and make the joint lines disappear. Tedious and slow work for sure. blue lines are the centers of the elements the red lines are the edges of the corners in the quadrennial. We then labeled the elements to insure we alternated the elements.

The crown mold and frieze that runs along the wall both have a pattern in them that requires us to start from one direction and make all the cuts correctly to keep the pattern flowing all around the ceiling. Tougher than it looks but it  makes a big difference. We started out from the only original piece left in the room and kept the pattern flowing. The trick is to find the most inconspicuous place to hide this. The old way was to find a door the opens against a corner of the room and hide the joint there. That way as you enter the room you would have to turn all the way around to see the miss pattered joint.  However we had to start from the historic piece and continue around the room and end up on the other side of the historic piece. I challenge you to find the bad joint. (I know where it is but as of yet no one else has been able to find it)

Our decorative painters have also started painting the ceiling. It also is a very labor intensive painting project. It has two colors on the ceiling a yellow ceiling paint and a glazed painted surface on the ornamentation. Glazes tend to show all the imperfections in the plaster but luckily none showed up.

So here is the completed mockup area . Now that we have complete acceptance of the paint procedure we can finish the paint. We will be doing so in the next two weeks.

Finished ceiling

It is wonderful to be associated with people who are committed to excellence!

      On Wednesday I had an owners meeting in Ft. Worth concerning the restoration work on the T&P Train Station Lobby Ceiling. Long drive up and back, it makes for a lot of time to reflect. I left at 4:30a.m., because I wanted to get there well before the meeting started so that I could look for problems and get them corrected or, God forbid, covered up. This is a very intricate ceiling and I have become somewhat attached to this beauty ever since I was involved with it’s original restoration 10 years ago.
      The ceiling was subject to some damage due to remodeling the upper floors into condo units. They contracted Professio to come in and repair the damage and inspect the ceiling for any additional damage.

     I was heavily involved in the Harris County Courthouse restoration, so my time on this project would have to be merely overseeing it and doing paperwork. It was very nerve-racking to me that I would not be physically on the project. Luckily, I was able to put two of my most trusted people on the project Kevin Castleberry and Jessie Kitchens. I have worked with them in the past and, though we might not always see eye to eye as to the proper procedures, I know that both of them can be trusted to think through the restoration thoroughly and do what is best for the building. I really had no reason to think that they would not do a great job, but I could not help but worry about it. I know that Jessie was a little annoyed at all the calling and my constant fretting over protection of the marble and the chandeliers.

     We are also doing the painting on the ceiling. This is not in my area of expertise, but I have been around it enough to understand at least some of the issues with decorative painting. (I know just enough to be dangerous.) Thankfully the company was fortunate enough to lure away from our competition, a very talented artist, Machelle Wood, to run our decorative paint division. I have worked with Machelle and have a deep respect for her abilities so I had a huge degree of confidence in her ability to do the painting on this very complicated project. However, she was now heavily involved in the protection of a very important fresco mural on the Garcia Federal Building that we had under contract and it would require that she stay in San Antonio during this restoration. She assured me that she knew a man in Utah that could paint this ceiling with no problem. She contacted Todd Stubbs and he agreed to come to Ft. Worth and do the project.

     So now I have a man, whom I never met, coming to paint a very complicated intricate ceiling. Machelle could feel my uneasiness and offered to drive up on weekends to work on matching all the colors and glazes and I met with her the first time, even though I really was not any help. I think I was there only to squelch my own personal fears. She worked all weekend and turned around and drove 4 hrs back to San Antonio so she could be back onsite on Monday on the mural. She truly is a dedicated professional and we at Professio are proud to have her.

So back to my trip…

      I was driving up to have a meeting with the owner’s reps, the architect Donna Carter of Carter Design Associates and the general contractor Wood Partners. I know we have done some painting and Machelle and Jessie have reassured me that it is looking good, but, well, I couldn’t help but be a little on edge. This architect has a very discerning eye. We don’t have any extra time to redo work, and I have not seen any of it so my stomach is in knots.

     I arrived an hour before the meeting, which was exactly my plan. As I walked toward the building, I told myself not to get caught up in admiring the work, but to look for potential problems. I entered the room and started my inspections. It all looked wonderful, but again I asked myself, “Where is the problem that the architect or owner might bring up?” Is the floor clean? Yes, in fact it is spotless. Are the paints and materials stored professionally? Are all the precautions that the owner and architect requested in place? Do all the colors match? Can I tell the difference between where we repaired to where we did not work?

     Todd came down from the scaffold and asked me what I thought. I respond, “I think it is perfect!” I can’t seem to find anything wrong. The only thing I want to change before our customers arrive is to remove the plastic tarp protection we had placed around the scaffold, just so that they could get an even better look at our work.

     The owner’s rep and the architect arrived, and I couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say. She walked around and really didn’t say much. The owner’s rep, however, couldn’t stop praising our work. After a bit the architect turned and said, “Perfect, I can’t find a thing wrong! It all looks wonderful. I see one shiny spot on the dark medallion, which I know is where we repaired. But as I look at the other dark medallions they have shiny spots also, so I really can’t say it needs to be fixed. You have really done a stunning job of matching the finishes.”

     As I drove back to Houston, I reflected on just how wonderful it is to have good quality people who are committed to excellence. Thank you team!  Kevin, Jessie, Machelle, and Todd, You guys are truly great artisans and I’m proud to be associated with you!

Man that is one Huge Capital

Above is a photo of one of the existing capitals on the Harris County Courthouse.The are at the top of the center rotunda  There are four of them and all of the centers of the capitals have been removed in the past. We were contracted to recreate the center element.

We first created a rubber mold of the largest remaining parts. We then cast parts those parts in our shop and installed them into a frame to start building the complete capital.

We measured the distances between the decorative elements so that we built it holding the same size as what was on site. We built it laying down to so that carving would be easer.

Here is the where we started the building of the mockup. you can see on each side is plaster castings that came out of the molds we made so that the replicate the sides. the top ledge is the top run shelf on the existing captals. We installe wood framing and lathed over the wood so we could plaster in as have the starting shape.

Here I"m plastering over the lath and framing creating the trunk shape of the capital.

We installed leaves that were also cast from molds made on site to start the shaft of the capital. We then installed framing and then lathed it and plastered as we did the vertical trunk of the capital. After all of this we now has the basic shape started and could start building the elements.

Here I have started the large center element. I started this first so that I had a feel for the scale.
After thisIi started filling in the leaves.

The completed capital can be viewed here.

Hundreds of hours have been put into this project. once approval is received we will make a rubber mold of the capital and start casting the four capitals. ship them to the sight and install. I will have post additional photos on the installation in the future.

New Project!!!!

Professio by Matt Henson, Inc. is pleased to announce that we have started work on the precious Hipolito F. Garcia Federal building and U.S. courthouse located directly across the street from the Alamo in San Antonio Texas. We are proud to be a part of the team that The Beck Group put together for the restoration of this stately building.  We are responsible for protecting and restoring the historically significant interior portions of the building including the ornamental plaster, flat plaster, decorative paint finishes and protecting the large Howard Cook fresco mural in the entry lobby. See the photo.

One of our first tasks is to do an analysis of the original paint finishes. This will require careful removal of the paint to expose the first layer without damaging the surface of the subsequent layers of paint, thus giving us the opportunity to color match the paint that will be applied to these areas. It never ceases to amaze me that when all the original colors are put back into their places, these old buildings just seem to come back to life. All the elements from the chandeliers to the mechanical grill covers to the tile floors will once again work in concert to bring back to life the genius of designers Ralph Cameron and Paul Cret. Paul Cret is best known in Texas as the designer of the Main building and Tower on the University of Texas campus in Austin Texas.

Another part of our contract is protecting the mural. This mural is one of the largest frescoes in the United States. It can be easily damaged by dust created during reconstruction. Most of the dust around job sites come from cutting and sanding. Most of the surfaces are alkaline such as concrete, masonry mortars, plaster, drywall and drywall mud. We have to install protection over the mural to insure that these elements will never come in contact with the fragile paint surface. The protection will also have to be installed in such a way that it will not damage the surface. Delicate work with lots of precautions. Extra levels of caution are in order here and we will have professional conservators inspecting and advising on the work through the process.

Next we will need to devise a plan to cut into the existing plaster finishes to provide access to run new electrical systems, fire alarms, and fire sprinkler piping. We will be researching the framing and structural elements and develop a plan that will minimize the destruction of historic fabric and prevent causing additional damage. A lot of restoration projects fail to do this and disaster happens. Without due diligence, a structural ceiling could fail resulting in a loss of historically significant elements as well as risking the lives of workers below.

As you can see, it takes a lot of preplanning and looking at all the possibilities of failure and providing safeguards to create a environment where we are reasonably comfortable that, beyond an acute catastrophe, the building will be safe from any additional harm.

We will keep you informed on our process including photos if the GSA will let us.

Crown of the Capital

Harris county courthouse continues. Even though we here at Professio have lots of projects going on, we are still hard at work getting all the ornamental plaster pieces ready for installation. Here I’m carving the very top of the large capital that will set high up in the rotunda.  I’m carving it out of clay and the design comes from other elements found in the courtroom. Notice the leaves are very deep. This unit will be located some 30 pluse feet from the first level you can view it from. And it will needs to be deep so that the designs can stand out from that distance.

After finishing the carving we will make a rubber mold of the element and then cast the four pieces out of gypsum plaster. Installation is scheduled to start soon and unfortunately the large capital may be the very first piece we are to start on. So the presser is on to get this piece and the large capital carved and into production.

I will update you again as we make the mold of this peace

Who would'a thunk? (A true West Texas saying)

Sometimes the universe just seems to want to give you a gift and graces you with a blessing beyond words. This happened to me a few weeks back. I had received a call from Johnny Langer of Source Historical, who is a great friend and trusted colleague concerning an item that had been found while he was in Hamilton Texas researching the original color scheme of the Hamilton County courthouse. He calls me all excited but not really wanting to tell me too much. He said they think they found the original bas-relief sculpture that legend said stood behind the judge’s bench. I say legend because there is no notation on the original plans for the sculpture. He and Gordon Marchant (architect),and  the County Judge were looking at it and discussing it. He said I should be getting an invitation to give my professional assessment of the sculpture. He added “and you will get and additional surprise. I’m not saying but ask about the Picasso. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Well the call finally came from Bill Wilson of RBR construction. I’ve known Bill Wilson for some time and have a high degree of respect for his abilities to manage restoration projects. ( a job that is really harder than it looks). He gave me the name of Francis and Ray Ramsey and their phone numbers. He said it is located in a storage room on the 2^nd floor of their art gallery. He added. “That is all I’m going to tell you because you need to experience it just as the rest of us were able to experience it.”

I called and left messages on all the phone numbers that I was given and waited for a return call. After a couple of days a very gracious lady returned my call and we discussed when would be a good time to come by and inspect the sculpture, a Friday after lunch. It was on my way back from Austin to Lubbock. So I thought I would stop by and inspect and photograph it and then be on my way back to Lubbock. Should not take more than an hour, or so of my time.  Boy was I wrong!

I arrived in Hamilton a little early and stopped for lunch awaiting the arrival of the Ramsey’s.  Hamilton is a small town of 3 thousand or so, in the middle of ranch country about 80 miles north east of Austin Texas. It is on two somewhat major crossroads so I have driven through the town several times in the past but never stopping. On the front door of the building it list “shown by appointment only” with phone numbers underneath. I could see through the glass into the dark room beyond that it was filled with paintings.

Soon a car drives up and a lady waves at me through the window. After parking Mrs. Ramsey walks up to the front of the building to meet us.  Her husband Ray is coming through the back of the building and is opening up the front door from the inside. We are already talking about the sculpture, its history, its travels, and how it came back to Hamilton. So we are walking through a Gallery full of art but I’m focused on the story and as she is talking she is leading me to the back and up the stairway to the room where the Sculpture is stored.

After doing my investigation work and photographing the sculpture. I head down to the first floor where the gallery owners are talking to my friend and from the look on her face I realize that she is amazed.  They have now turned on the overhead lights and the room literally is filled to the brim with art work. But not just standard western art that you always seem to find in small western ranch towns but from all the old art masters.  Renoir, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, artist from French impressionist, to Constructivism, from the Byzantine area, to Art Nouveau, to Andy Warhol.  Some of whom I have never heard of but now know how valuable they are. So after and brief tour I say “I heard a rumor that you have a Picasso.”

“A Picasso?” She turns and opens a door turns on a light “We have almost a whole room filled with Picasso’s.”

Speechless I step into the room and look at all different eras of Picasso’s life from simple sketches to sculptures. There might not have been hundreds but there was certainly more than thirty.

So for the next few wonderful hours I get to experience all this incredible art, and get a personal tour from two very passionate and well versed art lovers. A collection that rivals any personal collection I have ever seen even rivals most museums and located in a most unlikely place in the heart of Texas.

If you are looking for a great place to see art and want to see it up close and personal. Head to a true art capital - Hamilton Texas. The number is on the door. Ray and Francis Ramsey love to show off their art and it will be a day you will never forget. Information about the collection can be found here.

My report on the Lady Justice sculpture can be viewed here.

Time out to Learn

Last week I attended the APTI conference in Los Angeles.  The Association of Preservation Technology International is a great organization of professionals involved in the restoration of our heritage in the built environment. Attendees were architects to trades men, from educators to art conservators from all over the United States Canada and South America, all there to learn from each other and share their findings. There were papers presented from Adobe restoration to saving public murals to drying wet buildings. Papers are presented on projects showing what the challenge was and the procedure followed to try and resolve the issue. Some have no easy solution and more study is needed but we all learn from both success and failures.

One of the best things in this institution is the evolvement of students. The organization has collage students who are studying preservation in collage present case studies that they are working on. It gives me much confidence in the talent that is coming out of the universities that have preservation studies.

I wish that all professionals involved in restoration would attend these conferences but sadly most do not. You have to ask though would you want a firm working on your historical building that is not keeping up with all the issues that affect the restoration of these buildings especially in the light of how some restoration efforts in past have resulted in increased damage to the buildings instead of preserving them.