Ralph writes:
>And don't get your weed eater too close to the Dryvit.

Good advice! On many structures I had noticed a deep groove developing over
the past decade or so. Just above grade, all materials, especially woodwork,
but masonry too--sandstone, bricks and mortar, even granite gets some wear
from some unknow grooving force. I could not figure it out until I was doing
an assessment and investigation at the Olsen House in Cushing, Maine (the
one in the Andrew Wyeth paintings, you can see a pictures of it at my
website under "Inturnships"). There the original wooden cellar window frames
had the mysterious deep grooves cut right across both jams, on all the
windows around the entire house. I had just noticed the grooves when the
grounds maintenance guy came around the corner wacking away with his noisy
little machine, buzzing down along the granite foundation, across the window
frame, fwuup, fwuup, and on around the other corner. I followed him around
the house, fwuup, fwuup...fwuup, fwuup...fwuup, fwuup...at every cellar
window. Fwuusssp, across the riser of the back porch stairs, the board was
nearly ripped in two--just an eighth-inch of wood left at the back of the
one-inch-thick board. Buzzzwip, thip, thip, thip...down along the vertical
board and battens of the barn, at the far corner of the barn there lay a
four inch end of a batten, neatly trimmed off the building. Out by the
parking lot the 4x4 posts for the sign were cut half way through.

The maintenance guy was wearing head phones with a radio built in, he looked
like he was enjoying his work, whacking weeds and tall grass, wacking
historic woodwork, whatever, in his own little world, wacky, wacky, wacky.
What has happened to people that they cannot pay some attention to the world
around them. I'm afraid that people like this who get caught up in the
artificial construct of media/marketing are not only a lost cause, but also
cause loss of what is important in the real world.

Has anyone else noticed the "Wacky Groove?"



John Leeke, Historic Building Specialist

26 Higgins St.
Portland, Maine 04103
207 773-2306
[log in to unmask]
HistoricHomeWorks.com

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