This is the third week on
site already and every week brings along with it new challenges. Water, proved
again to be the main culprit and also the chimney stack needed some attention. In
addition to this we have expanded our research on the origins of the water
furrow and its relevance at the time Oom Paul lived in Pretoria.
This week we came closer to
understanding the extent of the water damage and how to remedy it. Close inspection
revealed the failure of the ‘modern’ gutter fittings. The 'modern' fittings referred
to were presumably fitted in the last renovation of the museum (1950’s). These didn’t
have any historic reference to the authentic gutters fitted to the house.
The gutters have pulled
away from the timber bargeboard, allowing rainwater to flow between the gutter
and the wall. This resulted in decay of the timber and the exposed porous
plaster absorbed unnecessary water. A second problem became obvious: the
gutters didn’t have adequate fall, allowing water to dam in the gutters. These
tiny dams became fertile ground for weeds to grow in, further preventing the free
runoff of rain water.
Damming of water in ‘modern’
gutter. Visible damage to timber.
Accumulation of water turns gutters into weed gardens and occasional bird baths.
It was thus decided to remove the ‘modern’ gutters. They will be replaced by new gutters that closely resemble the original gutter design. Reference to the original gutter profiles and fixtures, were derived from selected photographs from the Ditsong archive.
Photo of Kruger House in 1953
Photo of Kruger House 1894 depicting 3 ZARP guards and horse.
Drawings of new gutters. – Aphane WIEW Architects + Urban Designers
I will keep everyone up-to-date
as the gutters get fitted by the main contractor GDK
Construction.
.
The second item/issue this
week is the damaged chimney stack.
The museum has four open hearth
fire places which served to keep the house warm during the cold Highveld
winters. The flues of the fire places join together in two separate chimney
stacks in the roof space. We noticed that one of the stacks is severely
damaged. It is unclear what has caused the damage. It could have been anything
from weathering through time or being hit by lighting in a storm.
Damaged chimney stack, northern face.
The
stack will be demolished down to the roof finish. It will then be rebuilt and
the new plaster finish will replicate the original decorative plaster finish.
Interestingly,
we discovered a steel ring bolt or bracket on the northern face of the damaged
stack. The exact use of the bolt is not clear. We presume it was there to fix a
pendant from. Once the stack has been taken down, we hope to get a better idea
as to the function of the ring.
Our
intention is to place the ring back in its original place on the reconstructed chimney.
Steel ring found on chimney stack.
The
story of the water furrow continues from our blog entry on week 2.
A
colleague of mine, Ahmed Alkayyali, did research of his own on the origins of
Pretoria’s water furrows. He came across some interesting artifacts, more specifically,
drawings in the national archive.
The drawings date from 1889 and depict the water system of Pretoria at that time.
Drawing
dating from 1889 indicating the water system at the time. – National Archive.
Ahmed’s research led to a
graphical representation of a time line connected to the evolution of Pretoria’s
water supply. From the drawing one notices the water being channelled from the south
at the Fountains Valley,bottom of the drawing, to Church Square depicted by the
plus sign in the middle of the drawing. From Church Square the water was
channelled through town by connecting furrows. On the right of the drawing the
Apies River forms the eastern edge of the central business district (CBD).
Graphical time line of water supply in Pretoria. –
Ahmed Alkayyali
To
see more of Ahmed work just follow the link. http://fractadactal.blogspot.com/2010/09/water-space.html
Be sure to visit the blog next
week to find out what has been happening on site.
