Heritage Center Renovation Updates
- Oak Brook Historical Society
- Jan 30
- 2 min read
Updated: May 27
What happened to the exterior of the Heritage Center? You may have
noticed all the scaffolding, ladders, and crew a few years ago. The Village
of Oak brook hired the firm of US Building and Efficiency Solutions (“US-
BES”) to repoint the exterior of the old Butler School This is a firm that
specializes in restoring and preserving historic landmarks.
One cannot help but notice the beautiful brick and gray mortar exterior.
There are three string (bricks that run horizontally) courses made up of
soldiers (vertical bricks with narrow edge exposed) that run the perimeter of
the building. This brick detail and other features on this 100+ year old
building is what gives the Heritage Center character and represents the
history of Oak Brook. The old Butler School was built in 1921 as a two
room schoolhouse on land donated by Frank O. Butler.
You might be asking yourself why repointing needs to be done. Over time
the mortar joints start to deteriorate, and water can seep into the interior of
the building. Several years ago, the interior of the building was restored,
and a museum was created for the community. Over the past six months
water has seeped in and it has affected the historic interior on the first and
second floors.
Repointing (often referred to as tuckpointing) is a process where
deteriorated mortar is removed from the joints of a masonry building and it
is replaced with new mortar. Properly done, repointing restores the visual
and physical integrity of the masonry.
Finding the right recipe to replace crumbling joints in historic buildings can
be the key to preserving them. As with most technology, mortar
composition has changed over time. Often times repointing older buildings
with the wrong mortar composition can cause the building blocks to absorb
moisture and can cause structural as well as cosmetic damage.
Lime mortar is the material of choice for historic masonry buildings. Its
mixture and formulation is flexible and breathable and can accommodate
freeze cycles and prevent damage. It has the ability to wick water out of
masonry buildings to protect brick and stone from water damage.
According to Frank Gonzales, architect, founder, and owner of US-BES,
there are only two companies in Chicago that formulate lime mortar to use
on historic brick buildings. One of them is Henry Frerk Sons who
specializes in masonry restoration and repair. It is a company that dates to
the 1880’s and has a large selection of historic lime mortars. They have
created and provided US-BES with a mortar that matches the original color
and appearance of the mortar that was used when the Butler School was
built. The project will be completed by December 2023.
The Heritage Center, formerly Butler School, is an example of Georgian
Revival architecture with Federal style details. It was listed on the National
register for Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior
in 2003. It is currently home to the Oak Brook Historical Society.
Comments