Lincoln County Courthouse project well under way
By Robert Wolfington IIIArticle Photos
IVANHOE - The windows at the Lincoln County Courthouse were boarded up this week - but officials see it as a good thing.
Crews from Doom and Cuypers of Marshall have been prepping the courthouse for new windows that will be installed later this year as part of a restoration of the building.
Lincoln County Commissioners approved a project this summer to replace existing windows and an air exchange system through a $75,000 bond.
Craig Larson, maintenance director for Lincoln County, said the building has 100 windows that will be replaced in the project.
"By the end of today (Friday) they should have about 65 windows down, and there are 100 windows total," said Larson.
A majority of the windows at the courthouse were last replaced in the late 1950s with glass blocks. Larson said a few windows in the front of the courthouse were replaced in the late 1970s.
"The block windows were put in during the late 1950s and the windows on the front of the courthouse were put in during the late 1970s," said Larson. "We're going to do all the windows in the courthouse."
Steven Doom, project manager for Doom and Cuypers in Marshall, said the courthouse building is well built and has been well taken care of.
He said the windows should prove to be a major improvement for Lincoln County.
"It looks really nice now and will look a whole lot better when we get some new windows in there," said Doom. "We're going to take it back to how it looked originally."
Larson said the contractors Doom and Cuypers are completely removing the existing windows and building new frames.
"They're taking it right down to the cement and re-framing everything," said Larson. "They'll be ready to put the windows in, all they'll have to do is pull off the sheeting and put the window in and trim around it."
Doom said he is in the process of measuring each opening to determine the best way to install each window.
"There are 100 windows and 15 different window types," said Doom. "Because it's masonry construction, we find some variations in the sizing. I am measuring each and every window as we go here. Hopefully we'll be able to find a happy medium between most of them."
Doom said he is proud to work on a project that will restore a long-lasting building and hopefully extend its life further.
"We've got a lot of pride in this project, we want to do it right," said Doom. "This building has stood for nearly 100 years and we would like to think our windows will be here for another 50 years and carry it well into the next century."
In addition to improving the historic value of the building, Larson said the project should improve the work environment for county employees.
"We should see some heat savings, we'll get more light in with the nice windows," said Larson. "They'll be able to open the windows up in the spring and the fall, they're just a regular double hung window."
The windows project is under way while the courthouse is still active. Larson said they are working to ensure offices in the building are not displaced for too long.
"We're trying to work around things," said Larson. "Monday is a holiday for us so we'll do an office that has to be there and can't relocate. So far we've been able to relocate everyone into another office and get by."
A second phase of the project will involve an upgrade to the air exchange in the building. Larson said there will be a bid opening at 2 p.m. Thursday to address that project.
