Portico Restoration
RESTORATION HIGHLIGHT – Front Portico, 2013
Much of the wood supporting the Castle’s front porch structure had succumbed to water damage and rot over the decades and needed to be replaced. Preservation carpenters from Bedard Preservation & Restoration replaced the posts, beams, and all but one decorative wood brace with the same material and using the same construction methods. New white oak timbers were attached with mortise and tenon joints and large dowels, and all exposed surfaces were scalloped with a chisel to recreate the portico’s original handcrafted appearance. Masons completed the project by restoring the original quarry tile floor on the porch’s balcony in 2016.
Restored portico at its unveiling in 2013. With the new replacement wood still unpainted, you can see the only original section of the portico that could be saved (see the brace at the upper left).
A carpenter from Bedard Preservation & Restoration skillfully chisels surface patterns into a replacement oak timber, replicating the original design.
The original tile floor on the portico’s second floor balcony was also restored. It received a bed of new mortar in 2016.
