Oregon Caves Historic Structures Report

PART IV
Exterior Assessment and Recommendations (continued)

Windows and Doors (Exterior)

Typical exterior sill and screen.

The openings in the Chateau at the exterior have received only modest alterations. Three doors were removed and replaced with windows on the west façade when the veranda was taken down in 1958, and one window was enlarged during the coffee shop remodel in 1954. Aside from these changes, the original windows and doors are intact throughout the structure.

The windows are a combination of types, ranging from large fixed panes to double hung sashes to casements. In all cases the historic sills and surrounds are intact, painted the same reddish brown as the verge boards. Removable screens are present on many of the double hung sash windows, exterior attached to the building with a hook and eye bolt system that fixes the screen in place.

Even though the majority of the screens are intact, a few have been damaged. Damage includes the separation of the frame members, holes in the metal screening, and damage to the frame from the installation process or from the screen coming loose from the eye bolts. There are a number of screens on the sixth floor windows that are lying on the roof itself, having come loose from their attachment points.

Typical fixed window.

The window sills are formed by dimensional lumber set on an angle to shed water away from the building (i.e. they are weathered). No drip edge is present on the bottom side of the sills, and they project out from the building to varying degrees due to the irregular nature of the cedar bark siding. The sills and surrounds are all painted, but the paint coating is beginning to fail in the majority of cases. One sill is missing altogether. At the west end of the north wing on the second floor, there are three rooms used for employee housing. The center room is missing the sill from the southern window, allowing a great deal of air into the structure and making the space very hard to heat during the cold winter months.

The historic doors are present at many locations in the building, including the lobby entrance, dining room and coffee shop entrances, fifth floor fire doors, boiler room doors, third floor catwalk doors, fourth floor catwalk doors, and the kitchen and second floor doors to the exterior. New doors have been installed in the sixth floor openings leading out to the fire escapes. These are not full size doors, and fit within the opening of what was once a double hung window.

All of the doors are in good condition. The door out onto the fire escape at the fifth floor level of the south wing was inoperable at the time of the inspection (March, 1999). The concessionaire's maintenance supervisor stated that the door swells during the winter months, and when it dries it is fully operational.

Lobby entrance doors. Note the bow.

The lobby entrance doors are experiencing slight problems. Constructed of tongue and groove boards laid vertically with a steel bar at the inside edge of the east door, the doors have been re-hung on non-historic hinges. The doors originally pivoted on brass pins set into the head and jamb of the door, but now swing on modern hinges attached at the side jambs. The eastern door, which receives the most use, is bowing outward at the top on the west side. This prevents the door from providing a good seal, allowing air infiltration. However, the door is still fully operational.

Sill north of the Coffee Shop door.

The rest of the exterior doors on the Chateau are in good operating condition, with no deficiencies except the damage to the paint. The kitchen and boiler room doors are particularly subject to this, but they are out of the public view and receive less attention. New door hardware has been added to all of the exterior doors in the form of locks and handles. This provides a greater measure of security for the structure, and has generally been installed with a good level of respect for the historic door fabric.

Recommendations for Treatment: Exterior Doors and Windows

The doors and windows of the Chateau essentially suffer from deferred maintenance. For recommendations on glazing, glass, and frames see the windows section of the interior assessment. The exterior recommendations are as follows:

• Replace the missing sill on the second floor, west end of north wing. This missing element allows air and moisture to infiltrate the structure, and is a potential cause for damage to the building.

• Scrape and paint all exterior sills and frames. The sill to the north of the coffee shop door will require patching to make the surface flat, as the wood from the 1954 window addition is seriously weathered.

• Scrape and paint the exterior doors in the non-public areas of the building, including the doors on the west façade leading to the kitchen, second floor storage area, employee dining room, and boiler room. This will preserve the historic fabric and reduce the likelihood that these doors will need replacement.

• Remove the bow from the lobby entrance doors. The door will most likely have to be disassembled to accomplish this, and wood or metal bracing may be necessary to straighten the door.

• The concessionaire has expressed an interest in restoring the historic hinge mechanism on the lobby entrance doors. A variety of pin hinges that mount in the head and threshold are available, but a brass mechanism should be used to reduce the risk of corrosion and to match the historic hardware.

• Exterior window screens should all be firmly attached to the window frames using the eye bolt and hook hardware. Each frame should be removed from the building and inspected for loose joints and holes in the screening, then repaired and painted as necessary before re-installation.

orca/hsr/hsr4f.htm
Last Updated: 22-Sep-2001