Now that everything is disassembled, it’s time to clean surfaces and paint. Here’s Tom grinding rust off the interior, preparatory to cleaning & priming. This is work of the worst kind: dirty and noisy. Barb brought the astragals down to a picnic table where there was room to work. They need a lot of attention […]
This work takes time and patience….as well as a good deal of knowledge….and the right tools….and the right people. Here’s Marty removing a top stop that’s rusted in place. All this work for this handful of screws! But, without them removed, the panels can’t be inserted. Are you starting to understand how we lived with […]
It’s incredibly hard work to remove screws that have been in place for 150+ years. They’ve tested a number of tools and approaches to see what works best….trying to back things out without stripping threads or breaking a screw off. Here’s Tom & Barb working away. Meanwhile Marty is attacking one of the recalcitrant ones, […]
Tom, Marty & Barb, our “lantern room” team, are back again this year. Some day visitors came out with them, Sam & Tim of the Outdoor Adventures of Sam & Tim and Brian Freiberger, a prior year volunteer and reporter for the Leelanau Enterprise and Cathy to inspect things. The team got to work right […]
This team has an extra day, as we get back to a Saturday team turnover schedule after some weather issues transitioning earlier teams. This shutter had gotten loose over the winter and likely contributed to the broken window pane. They added tightening things up to their task list.
While Ben worked on the Assistant Keeper’s flooring, James got to work edging some of the 600 feet of sidewalk that connect the various buildings. Much of it is original from 1917. We’re trying to keep it well drained so water doesn’t accumulate allowing freeze/thaw cycles to break it up. It also just looks neater […]
After the porches had become a safety hazard and were removed, it left a trailing downspout that directed water onto the side of the building. We’ve had numerous projects to replace the damage — repairs to the basement foundation, rebuilt the basement window & window frame, restored other damaged windows and last year’s project to […]
Team 4 is our carpentry team of James, Jim & Ben, a group of friends from northern Indiana. They have a lot of projects and a lot of materials and gear…. Here’s our new scaffolding with Jim & Ben at work replacing the soffits. One of the rear soffits had a lot of rot on […]
This team mentioned they’ve been working on a secret project. It turns out to be this, clearing the hillside in front of the lighthouse. Team leader Sandra has been chipping away at this since her first trip out in 2020. With lots of help, the oil house is no longer surrounded by brush and there’s […]
The South Fox Island Light Station restoration project was featured in the Leelanau Enterprise Extra e-newsletter. This video created by Brian Freiberger captures transport and arrival to the station, glimpses of several buildings and interviews with several volunteers and visitors. View of the station with spray on the lens. Brian Freiberger photo. We’re told to […]