Handicap Ramp Now Closed

The construction crew is making good progress and they will begin dismantling the first floor of the center wing porch tomorrow, which means the handicap ramp will be removed. Unfortunately, until the new ramp is built, which will be in approximately 4 to 5 weeks, this means we have no handicapped access to the building.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.  We appreciate your patience as we complete this necessary project, which will make the porches safer for everyone to enjoy.  

The First Snag

These photos are from Tuesday, July 22nd.  The brick piers have been demolished and the second floor railings have been removed (See bottom photo).  Once the piers were out of the way, we got our first good look at the supporting beams under the porch.  Many of the beams were significantly deteriorated due to moisture damage; worse than we expected (see top photo).  We hoped to be able to salvage the understructure, but all of the porch's 14 beams need to be replaced.  This will add $10,000 to the project cost.  It will also take an additional 4 days of labor to replace the existing beams with the new ones.  

Need for Renovation

Just to give everyone an idea of the poor condition of the porches, here are some photos from 2006, when we first began working with the State of Ohio via the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission to help fund the porch project.

The total projected cost to replace the porches is $435,000.  The state will reimburse us for $220,000, thanks to our legislators Randy Gardner and Bob Latta.  

Railings in Production

One of the museum's most beautiful features is the detailed handrails on the porches.  We took great care to ensure that the new railings are exact copies of the originals.  The new railings are in production at Schreiner's Custom Stairs and Millwork in Fostoria, Ohio.  

Own A Piece of History!

Good news! Hume contractors are on site today (07/14/08) and will begin working on dismantling the porches on the Wood County Historical Museum. So far, we are right on schedule. 

Some of you expressed interest in having some sections of porch railing. Hume will salvage each section as they start removing them, maybe by Wednesday. If you would like a section, they'll be available on a first come, first serve basis.  Any section left over will go in the dumpster. Also, if you want to stop by and watch the progress on the porches, you are welcome to do that.

2008 Porch Project

The porches surrounding the Wood County Historical Museum will be under construction during 2008. This is a huge undertaking, one that we will approach with great care. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause throughout the season, including construction equipment on the grounds and no use of our handicap ramp for a few weeks (date to be determined). We hope to keep you, our loyal visitors, informed with the progress. Please check back often for updates and pictures.

More information from the Ohio Cultural  Facilities Commission