Houses of Worship · Washington DC
Simpson-Hamline United Methodist Church
A historic slate roof replaced, a foundation wall excavated and sealed, and the sanctuary upgraded inside.
Water was getting into this building from two directions: down through a historic slate roof at the end of its life, and sideways through the foundation wall. Both had to be closed before anything inside the sanctuary was worth restoring.
Description of services
- Historic slate roof replacement
- Foundation repairs and water infiltration remediation
- Excavation and sealing of the foundation wall
- Interior upgrades to the sanctuary
Closing both routes
The foundation was excavated down to the wall and sealed from the outside. That is the repair that holds: sealing the inside face moves the damp rather than stopping it, and a building that keeps taking water will undo whatever is done to the rooms above. The slate was replaced rather than patched, for the same reason. On a historic roof at the end of its life, patching buys a season and spends the deck underneath.
A building a congregation is still using
This is a faith-based organization, and the sanctuary is the room the organization exists around. Work on a historic sanctuary carries constraints ordinary commercial construction does not: the building fabric is irreplaceable, the congregation still needs the space, and the work happens in full view of the neighborhood. Usource self-performs structural, carpentry and masonry work, which is what lets a crew make a judgment on the deck rather than stopping for a change order.
