Heritage Center Renovation Updates

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.