Another Meeting House Restoration Project: Replastering the Interior
With the help of a $7,500 grant from the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, a $5,000 grant from the Narragansett Number One Foundation, a $7,500 grant from the Davis Family Foundation, and the generosity of numerous donors near and far, the final phase of substantial restoration project work was completed in October of 2024. In late August Peter Lord, a plaster restoration specialist in Limington, and Dan Amabile , began the labor-intensive process of removing all old and deteriorated plaster from the interior walls of the Meeting House, including any remnants of the wallpaper put up decades earlier. In fact, Peter found writing on the back side of a strip of paper with the name Stanley Durgin and the date August 1, 1962!
The first step was to protect the floor with waterproof paper and then cover the work area with poly sheeting. Peter noted that the old plaster was " a very good mix with plenty of lime, but very thin and that's what eventually did it in". They then fastened metal wire and wooden lathing and applied a gypsum scratch coat, then a second coat of gypsum plaster, then a lime and sand mix. The new plaster allows for a strong resilient system that can withstand structural movement in an unheated building.
Toward the end of September Steve Bromage, Executive Director of the Maine Historical Society, paid a visit to look at the progress.
Peter remarked that we were very lucky and hit almost the exact right weather: warm and dry, then damp and wet, then dry again, and no freezes during the night. Fans were kept going 24 hours a day for a two-week period, with the power supply donated by next door Elder Grey neighbors Kelly and Scott Pelchat. By October 7th, Peter and Dan were taking down the staging and starting the clean-up process. Peter made several visits afterwards to check the moisture level in the walls as the plaster set and slowly whitened.
A final note: A business meeting was held inside the Meeting House on November 9th. Because it was a tad chilly, Shaun Campbell rigged up a heater so folks could admire the newly plastered walls in comfort.
