The 103 year old courthouse is getting a $5 million facelift to restore and repair the exterior. Leaks from the main dome have damaged the interior of the courthouse. They expect the majority of the exterior projects to be completed by the middle of September.

The main dome and 4 smaller domes have also received a fresh color change from white to gray. The color change is due to a new waterproofing application that began 2 weeks ago and expected to be completed by the first of August. Gray was chosen to replace the white to make the courthouse more in line with the original construction back in 1909.

Several Stage Waterproofing

First the workers removed all the paint and waterproofing covers from the terra cotta roof tiles on the main dome and 4 smaller domes. Next step in the several stage waterproofing process is to apply a reinforcement of hairy mesh fabric to help protect from cracking from thermal extremes.

D.A. Nolt Inc. of Berlin, NJ is the construction manager for the project. Next year the county will seek bids for roof repair, and then the focus will shift to interior restoration.

Built in 1852, the Fitchburg Massachusetts City Hall is in desperate need of roof repair. The trusses are compromised and the building is on the verge of falling down. According to two recent inspections from engineering firms, the roof needs to be fixed by winter.

Built in the form of a Roman Temple it served as the city of Fitchburg’s first town hall. At the time it was considered an architectural wonder.

As well as needing updating throughout the historic building, the wooden truss in front of the building that holds up the roof is failing. In the 1990’s the truss was reinforced, engineers said it should have been jacked up another 6 inches.

Tear down or Refurbish the Historical Building

Officials are considering demolishing the building and moving to temporary offices while a new city hall is to be built. While others want to preserve the historical building at all costs.

Mayor Lisa A. Wong said “I would definitely personally hate to see the building gone, but at the same time, this building is potentially too far gone both historically and practically for us to continue operating here.”

Samuel R. Blair, chairman of the Historical Commission said “It absolutely has to be preserved. It is a symbol of the city and an extremely important architectural structure on upper Main Street that is the center of our city government. You cannot convince me there is no way of saving it.”

Estimates for replacing the roof truss are $200,000. The discussion will continue at the next meeting Tuesday in City Hall.

The Hershey Pennsylvania’s historic arena’s roof burned for more than 2 ½ hours before firefighters could put out the fire. Director or safety and security for Hershey, Tim Shellenberger said there was little damage to the building, but it will take a few days to clean up the soot and clear out the smoke.

The fire started Thursday around 1 p.m. in a small area of the roof top that had a wooden structure and multiple layers of building materials. The wood smoldered and then caught fire. Workers have been making $2 million worth of roof repairs at the time. It is unknown at this time if the roof repairs triggered the fire.

5 Alarm Fire

More than 200 firefighters from neighboring towns came to fight the fire. The fire was difficult to contain since it was 100 feet above the arena floor with very few access points.

The nearly 100 degree weather caused a few emergency personnel to be treated for heat exhaustion. Firefighters worked in 20 minute shifts in the sweltering heat.

Pat Leonard, chief of the Hershey Volunteer Fire Co. said “I call it almost a $100 fire and just a lot of manpower to put it out.” He went on to say with regards to the integrity of the roof “This structure is concrete from the basement all the way to the roof, that’s a continuous poured concrete roof on that structure.”

Once the roof is repaired and the soot and damage cleaned up, owners expect the 75 year old Hershey arena to be back to normal.

Jack Tasker, owner of a 500 year old picturesque cottage in the village of Preston St Mary, Suffolk could face prison time unless he removes his new thatch roof. Tasker is accused of carrying out unauthorized work on a listed building which is a criminal offense, in which case he can be fined or imprisoned.

The cottage was built around 1510 and believed to be the oldest barn conversion in the country. Tasker spent over £13,000 replacing the thatched roof.

Planning enforcement officers at Babergh District Council sent Tasker a letter informing him that his roof was ‘unacceptable, out of character and had been put on without permission.’ Senior enforcement officer Ben Elvin said the roof is 4 inches too high.

Asked to Replace the Roof

Elvin said “the council had no option to ask Mr. Tasker to replace that thatching that has been carried out with one that matches the adjoining property.”

Tasker said the problem is that his next door neighbor refused to have their roofs re thatched together resulting in them both carrying out work separately in different styles. He also said his thatched roof followed the guidelines while his neighbors broke with tradition.

Peter Burrows, the council head of economy said the only way out is for Mr. Tasker to submit a retrospective application for his new roof, despite planners saying is unlikely to be approved.