The Eureka Springs Library is putting a $92,000 grant it received over the summer to good use.
The library received a grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program last year to have a full conservation assessment performed on the original historic Carnegie Library and the Library Annex buildings.
“We were trying to figure out what exactly had been causing periodic interior leaks inside the main library for the past decade, and why the paint on the wooden cornice near the roof line was peeling so badly with some portions of the cornice rotting and falling completely away,” library director April Griffith said.
The assessment showed that the built-in gutter system was failing at certain points where the elastomeric coating applied to the tin gutter pan had cracked. When the gutters clog with leaves and it rains, the water leaks through the cracks causing water to drip down from the ceiling and along the windows and wooden trim inside. Gutters also overflow with rainwater, spilling over the top of the cornice, damaging the paint and the wood. The replacement of the existing tin gutter pan and apron with a new copper one, along with consistent maintenance of gutters were needed to correct these issues.
Don Matt was hired by the library groundskeeper last year to perform the ongoing gutter maintenance, along with various other duties.The Carnegie Library Board applied again earlier this year for an Option-2 grant from the AHPP, which provides twothirds of the funds needed to complete restoration projects on buildings that are on the National Historic Register, with the other one-third of funds to be paid for by the applicant.
The Carnegie Library Board applied for funds to complete the first step of the first phase of a five-phase plan outlined to restore both the main library and the library annex, both of which have been experiencing roof-related leaks for the past several years.
This summer the library was notified that the AHPP was awarding it $92,000, to be matched by $46,000 from the Carnegie Library Board to complete all of the Phase 1 of the work plan at the total cost of $138,000. Since then, things have been busy behind the scenes getting bids and the official plans and drawings signed off on by the state, a permit secured from the city’s Historic District Commission, and other necessary paperwork.
Scaffolding was set to be erected on Nov. 1, and work will begin on cleaning and re-pointing the joint seals on the limestone work on the roof. Next, roof tiles will be carefully removed so that new copper flashing can be installed at the gutters and finally, the severely damaged sections of the wooden cornice will be repaired and replaced.
Additional funds from the 2023 Eureka Springs Library operating budget have been approved for scraping and repainting the wooden cornice, after the gutter repairs have been finished. All of this work will be completed over the next year with an estimated project completion of May 2023.
