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AiP’s workshop at The Speaker’s House had a slightly different format than usual, but all parties involved agreed it was a huge success. The workshop was open only to young people interested in pursuing masonry conservation as a career, therefore serving as a specialized training opportunity. Four trainees selected from the pool of applicants spent two weeks under the tutelage of Andy deGruchy and two of his masons while working to restore the façade of the 18th century home of Frederick Muhlenberg, first Speaker of the House of Representatives.
During the workshop – coordinated by The Speaker’s House, Adventures in Preservation (when it was known as Heritage Conservation Network), deGruchy Masonry Restoration, Inc., and the University of Pennsylvania – trainees learned how to prepare traditional lime mortar, match it to existing mortar and use it to repoint the original stonework. Work also involved removing the non-historic white paint from the locally-quarried red sandstone, a crucial step before they could repair damaged mortared joints and repoint the joints that had receded.
They also used a custom Lithomex blend to rebuild the lower half of a brownstone which was completely missing. Quick learners all, one of the volunteers who had never used any stone repair material before did all the tooling on his own using various sculpting tools and did a bang up job. At the end of the workshop, Andy asked the trainees how they intended to use their training.
Philip Clark, a 23-year-old single father from Norristown, Pennsylvania, entered the program hoping to learn a trade in the construction field. After two weeks steeped in history, he has revised his goal and would one day like to own his own masonry restoration business. Andy deGruchy has since hired Randy Ruth to work with him full time.
Without exception, the trainees agreed that their least favorite part of the work was aging mortar joints with a toothbrush.
The workshop was a significant step in improving the house’s physical appearance while also furthering the organization’s goal of restoring the house to how it looked during the Muhlenbergs’ ownership from 1781 to 1803. Due to neglect and deferred maintenance, the house was pretty run down by the time the Speaker’s House purchased it in 2004.
Since then, the organization has spent a great deal of time and effort carefully researching and investigating the house and its history to develop a comprehensive plan for its restoration. The façade of the house now looks much as it did at the time of its c. 1764 construction, but much work remains. Future projects will include the reconstruction of built-in benches that originally flanked the front door and a triangular hood above the front door to complete the façade restoration.
Based on this highly-successful model, the Speaker’s House plans to develop additional hands-on training opportunities throughout the restoration process, promoting the dual goals of preservation and education.
The workshop was funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The decision to use the funding for training as well as masonry work greatly enhanced the grant’s effectiveness. Trainees were chosen based on their commitment to pursue a job at which they would use the skills learned during this workshop. The future for masonry buildings just got a little bit brighter.
Andy deGruchy would like to thank Frank Matero, Department Chairman of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania and Victoria Pingarrón Alvarez, Laboratory Manager and Research Coordinator at the Architectural Conservation Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. Tiffani Simple and Yaritza Hernandez, students of the Graduate 
Program in Historic Preservation School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania performed mortar analysis for the Speaker’s House workshop. Lisa Minardi and Catherine R. Matsen of Winterthur Museum & Country Estate for their scientife research and analysis of the color wash and coatings found on the front façade of the Speaker’s House. Without this contributed scientific support a lesser quality interpretation of the original fabric and suitable replacement materials may have resulted.
