Time and Place

Time: 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Location: Pritzlaff Building 325 N Plankinton Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203

Please register for the workshop by emailing Matt Jarosz at mjarosz@uwm.edu

Workshop

Sponsored by the Historic Preservation Institute at SARUP

Stone: Discussing the latest digital techniques for stone replacement while examining the correct and incorrect ways to repair and retain original stone.

Workshop Summary:

This workshop will address the challenging matter of saving, restoring, and replacing original stone in landmark buildings. The subject matter of this investigative workshop will first be from a stone finishing company, Quarra Stone Company, in Madison, Wisconsin. This company is nationally and internationally known for employing the most advanced computer technologies and software in stone finishing. The information will be practical and pragmatic and enveloped in the challenging matter of product delivery, site coordination, information transfer, costs, schedules, installation, etc. The second half of the workshop will be focused on the Edsel Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. This grand stone mansion has been beautifully preserved but has also been faced with some of the most challenging technical matters associated with proper stewardship of a national landmark. This presentation will focus on the technical reality of proper documentation, advanced understanding of stone types, proper mortar compounds, and accurate means of pointing, repairing, and replacing stone. Within in the technical framework of this portion of the presentation will be the challenge of project costs and funding issues.

Workshop Presenters:

Steve Rousseau, Director, Supply Chain, Quarra Stone Company, Madison, Wisconsin
James Durham, President, Quarra Stone Company, Madison, Wisconsin
This presentation will include a brief history of the Quarra Stone Company. From traditional, time-honored techniques of stone quarrying, finishing, and project installation to the technically advanced reality of contemporary production tools and computer-generated craftsmanship. Using case study examples from around the world, the presentation will include a complete photographic PPT showing each step from concept to reality. The timeline of finished stone products and the roles of different project team members will be discussed, along with the type of information that is used during this process to help achieve a successful restoration project. Participants will see the complicated process from documenting existing, to creating missing pieces, to reapplying new stone pieces to an existing structure. Participants will discover the interesting properties of stone as it is used for a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. The restoration ideas will be tempered by the National Park Service standards for building’s using the Historic Tax Credit program for funding.

Rebecca Torsell, Director of Preservation, Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
Simon Leveritt, Owner, Leveritt Masonry Consulting, Chicago, Illinois
Ford House Director Rebecca Torsell, along with international masonry expert Simon Leveritt, will lead the discussion about the challenges that are currently facing the retention, repair, and stewardship of the iconic Edsel Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. The mansion is on the shore of Lake Michigan just north of Detroit. The age-old product of stone on buildings with all the technical repair challenges is not new to architects, contractors, and craftsmen. However, advanced products, tools, general knowledge, and academic scholarship about stone have improved. This has encouraged new possibilities about economical, affordable, and fundamentally more durable, long-term solutions. Discussion will cover these issues as well as others raised by participants who will be encouraged, regardless of prior experience with stone projects, to ask questions and make comments. The presentation will provide an overview of the stages of a project: object documentation, condition assessment, field investigation, structural analysis and design, and repair ideas.

Questions, comments?

All events are free and open to the public.
Additional information about the lectures and exhibitions can be found by contacting the main reception at (414) 229-4014, and by emailing any inquiries to HPI Matthew Jarosz.