So many projects are either underway or recently finished. Here is a brief update on a number of them.
East Wing Ceiling: It took three months but the east wing, which was the most damaged, has been double primed and painted. It took volunteers three years to complete the 1st floor painting project.
Driveway: An unexpected opportunity arose this summer when the husband of a board member offered his labor to reseal the driveway. While we envision a new driveway someday, this was a blessing to tide us over until then. What was thought to be a 3-bucket job turned into a 16-bucket project as the crack-ridden blacktop soaked up the slurry. Major improvement! Thank you Mark!
Marble Stain: Marsha completed scraping the large stain off the 1st floor foyer. This will do until we raise funds to re-hone the floors. Then the beautiful Tennessee pink marble floors will be ready for another 100 years.
Repaired Ceiling Vents: Jayne and Andy struck again. These hard-working volunteers have now patched the damaged ceiling around the vent holes and built new ventilation screen for both the east and west wings.
Bronze Doors: The 1st floor bronze doors repairs are underway with an expected installation date in November.
2nd Floor Hallway Lights: Yes, we are tired of looking at the dangling bulbs too. It would have been easy to buy new light fixtures, but as preservationists we look to keep the building as original as possible. Taking down the old fixtures was easy enough (George). It took a long time to resurface the light rings (Steven), install new mechanical and electrical parts (Mike), but we could never find new glass globes to fit the 90-year old fixtures. After three years we gave up. We purchased the largest size we could find and made a small adaptation (Jayne & Andy again). The new-old fixtures should be up by spring.
Expanded Plantings: As a part of the plan to enhance the streetscape of the Abbey, this summer Oakland Nursery expanded our existing flower beds with 3 flowering dogwoods, 1 redbud, 32 boxwoods and 38 knockout roses. This is in addition to the hornbeams planted last fall. More yet to come.
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