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www.deltalivingmagazine.com
July – September 2013
exterior walls was determined to
be in very poor condition, and
of little or no structural value. A
decision was made to remove the
bricks, which then exposed the
poor condition of the interior face
of the sandstone wythe.
To stabilize the walls, but keep
the exterior wythe of stone, we
developed and tested a structural
system that will strengthen the wall
from the inside. The system con-
sists of new concrete foundations
tied to the existing stone foun-
dations, a wall of steel studs (that
replace the deteriorated interior
wythe of brick), and two inches
of polyurethane foam applied
to the interior face of the stone.
The foam serves to stabilize the
stonework prior to drilling holes
and attaching the steel anchors
that tie the stone back to the steel
wall. It also strengthens the stone
by greatly increasing resistance to
movement, and provides a barrier
to moisture transmission.The steel
stud framing is also tied back to
the floor framing. On the inside
face of the steel stud wall, SURE-
Board panels, with 22 gauge sheet
steel adhered to the back side, of
gypsum wallboard, are attached to
provide lateral shear resistance, and
finally an historically correct inte-
rior plaster finish will be applied
to the gyp-sum side of the SURE-
Board panels.
A test panel of this structural
system was installed and load test-
ed on a segment of the House wall
this past June, 2013.The results of
the test greatly exceeded the ex-
pectations of the project design
team. An extensive research study
was also done to assure compat-
ibility of the structural adhesive
foam with the existing wythe of
sandstone.
With minor repairs, the existing
8” interior load-bearing brick par-
titions (not the interior wythe of
the exterior walls) will be retained.
Deep repointing of selected stone
areas, other modest repairs, and ar-
chitectural work will conclude the
current phase of construction. Fu-
ture work will include, rebuilding
of the portico on three sides, re-
building the top of the tower, new
roofing, modest interior finishes,
and adding the sandstone finish of
the exterior of the south wall.
The design team includes: Ar-
chitects Siegel & Strain with Jill
Johnson consultant, Keith Abey of
Jacobs Engineering, Nels Rose-
land consultant, and Direct Con-
struction Unit, State Agency for
State Parks. SURE-Board panels
donated by U. S. Gypsum.
Gene Metz is the President of the
John Marsh Historic Trust Inc. Board
of Directors. Board meetings are open
to the public and held the third Tues-
day of every month at 10 a.m. in
the Community Room at REI, lo-
cated at 2475 Sand Creek Road,
Brentwood, CA.
Existing typical exterior wall show-
ing wall cavity
For more information about the John Marsh House and
how you can be a part, visit www.johnmarshhouse.com.
Donations may be made through PayPal, or by check to
P.O. Box 1682, Brentwood, CA 94513.
Stripping existing roofing
Volunteers installing temporary
steel roofing