Seton Castle Restoration Progress Report

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Southwest view of castle with tarp roofing.

Kate from Spears Architects & Lou from Wolf Corp discuss new findings.

Close-up of wall made of cut logs.

June 2005
 

Our last progress report for the castle was in April. Wolf Corp, our general contractor, continues to amaze us with their expertise in handling this restoration. The pace of demolition and restoration is unfolding at a quick pace.

Starting from the top down, all roofs were removed, down to the decking. The decking is a series of pine planks that rest on top of the beams, or vigas. The undersides of this decking are visible as part of the ceilings in the castle. In traditional Santa Fe architecture, roofs have this configuration of vigas and decking. On top of the decking, there existed tar sheeting and 4-8 inches of dirt covered the very top. The dirt served as an added insulation. Literally, tons of this dirt and tar were removed from all roofs, as well as later addition roofs, all constructed to prevent Mother Nature from seeping in. We had a veritable 7-layer cake of roofs in many parts of the castle!

By getting down to the pine decking, we will be able to lay a new roofing membrane, either out of rolled sheets, computer engineered for the job, or a spray foam that will fill all the contours of the castle walls, allowing for rain and snow runoff. Amazing advancements since the time when ETS laid the first roof.

Before all the roofing membrane is laid though, all the electrical lines, low voltage lines, and computer lines will be laid, just below the new roof and above the wood decking. Holes will be drilled through the pine decking, to place all the lighting, sound, video, and computer hookups for the castle itself.

We worked a great deal so lighting and technology needs are met in an environmentally friendly way and without causing any undue stress on the building. Not only will we have groups held here, but we also want to properly light Seton's beautiful artwork for all to enjoy and admire.

In the interim, with all the decking exposed to the elements, Wolf Corp had to construct a series of wood and blue tarped roofs, under which they could work, and to protect the castle below. The blue tarped roofs jut out at 45 degree angles, on all sides of the castle. The castle looks like a sailboat of sorts or a big cake with blue icing.

Now under all this, we have had to remove a series of walls because they were not structurally sound, some made of rotted wood, about to decompose and fall apart.

As you can see from our photos, the whole second floor of the south side of the castle was removed. That wall was constructed of "pen tile": a building material made in the penitentiaries during the 1920's through the 40's. Pen tile is not structurally sound and not uniform to any codes, so we demolished the wall, and are rebuilding it out of wood framing that will be able to hold up the floors above. The walls will have a stucco finish to restore them to the original style.

Other walls in the upstairs bedroom and bath were removed because they were constructed of cut logs, laid edge to edge, with all the bark left on – really quite beautiful to look at – however, the logs were rotted. So, down these come and new walls will be rebuilt out of building lumber, with a stucco finish, as they originally had.

Simultaneously, we have begun to lay all the plumbing pipes. Parts of the lower level were dug down into the granite an additional 3 ft to allow for the proper runoff, and now running up the interiors of the walls to the baths and kitchen.

We also have begun to lay steel beams in parts of the castle that were literally floating: there was no structural support holding up the walls. These steel beams will be anchored to various stonewalls to support the weight of the floors above and below.

What amazing progress and work so far!

South view of 2nd floor wall removal and re-framing.