Tumwater’s oldest residence, the Crosby House, will be undergoing repairs.
The Tumwater Public Works Committee endorsed to its city council on Thursday, July 18, a contract with Construction Inc. to conduct repairs on the 160-year-old house for $106,000.
Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Denney said the house has been continuing to settle because it is built on unstable soils. Vibrations from the traffic on I-5 also contribute to its condition.
Ten years ago, the house’s foundation was repaired, so the exterior foundation is stable, but rotten structures underneath the house remain, according to Denney.
The director said that the contractor would clear the crawlspace by removing the soil underneath the floor and repairing the floor support system.
According to the contract's scope, repairing the floor support system means installing new carrying beams, support posts, and concrete pier pads. Though the existing carrying beams and joists have already been damaged by pests, they will be kept in place due to their historical value. New joists will be attached to the existing ones to help support the floor.
Denney clarified that they intend to lock the house into the current angle at which it dips from the ground and not to change the house to make it level with the ground.
“Trying to fix that and make it perfect at this point would cause more damage and be far more expensive than if we can just get it to stop moving and keep it in place,” Denney said.
Once the house has been stabilized, the director said they could investigate other repairs, such as repairing the cracks and tears in the walls and wallpaper.
According to Denney, the current residents of the house, who are daughters of the pioneers who originally inhabited it, are supportive of the repairs.
Construction Inc.’s contract will now be forwarded to the city council’s consent agenda for its August 20 meeting. According to the contract, repairs to the house will take up to 90 days.
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OlyBlues
It sure is fascinating to read Tumwater officials pulling out all the stops and sparing no expense to save this historic home, part of Tumwater's history, yet when it comes to the 400-year old Garry Oak tree, Mayor Sullivan and City Administrator Parks spend all resources to destroy it. Such irony. And Chuck Denney has been exposed in emails to agreeing with Parks to keep the city's plans to destroy the tree hush hush from the public. Chuck is ruining his legacy and should do the honorable thing and either support the historic preservation of the tree and speak up as the parks director or retire. His inaction on the tree and collusion with Sullivan and Parks has been beyond disappointing and has greatly damaged his reputation.
Tuesday, July 23 Report this