II. Peirce Mill Restoration—The Current Status

The restoration of Peirce Mill is well advanced. Work is underway on repairs to the floors of the building, all the damaged machinery has been removed, the machinery framework repaired, and an engineering study of the water system has been completed. Details are as follows:

• Our contractor for the floor work, Historic Structures Inc. (Steve Ortado and crew), have removed floorboards in the southwest quadrant of the main floor and are repairing and re-installing damaged or rotted floor joists. The work follows a detailed plan developed tby our structural engineering consultants, Robert Silman Associates, to deal with rotted joist ends where they enter pockets in the stone foundation wall. The task is complex because the weight of the upper floors has to be lifted section by section in order to be able to remove supporting posts that rest on the floor boards and impede their removal. Work on the remaining three quadrants is considerably simpler and should be completed in early 2009. The total cost of this work is estimated at $50,000.

• Our contractors for restoration of the milling machinery, O'Rourke & Kiorpes, have completed removal of all damaged machinery and repaired and strengthened the heavy framework that contains the milling machinery. In June 2008 they installed a new 20-foot-long main shaft on which a new water wheel will be mounted next year. Currently they are fabricating (off-site) new gears and shafts that will be installed in 2009 and 2010. In this work they are following detailed design drawings prepared by our consulting millwright, Derek Ogden. This is the most complex phase of the restoration project and will cost in excess of $300.000.

• A team of architects and engineers led by Bucher/Borges Group has completed a detaled engineering design of a pumped, recirculating water system to power the water wheel and the connected equipment throughout the mill. It will use an improved version of the system installed in the 1960s, which pumps water from below the water wheel back up to a short headrace, from whence it enters the flume and flows over the water wheel before being pumped back up again.

• Work being carried out by others, that is, work not to be funded by the Friends, includes correction of drainage at the west front of the mill, control or mitigation of flooding from the creek, structural repairs to the upper levels of the mill building, fire detection and control, handicap access facilities, and heating, ventilation and electric circuits. Work already completed by Rock Creek Park includes a new roof, repointing of the interior of the stone basement walls, and repairs to all building's windows.

Our objective is to complete all these work elements by May/June 2010 and to have the mill in operation shortly thereafter.

< Previous | Next >

Visit the Mill | History | Restoration | Fact Sheet | Newsletter
Join Us | Links | Contact Us | Home