METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH

Adam Clayton Powell at West 128th Street, Harlem NY

Scope of Work

Restoration project manager for emergency repairs including select roofing replacement gutters and downspouts and site drainage repairs.

Project Background & Profile

The Church was built in two phases by New York Presbyterian Church in 1884-85 and 1889-90. The church is both an individual NYC Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The scope of work included the replacement of the flat roofs with Kemper on the south side of the building where they adjoined the steep slate roofs, and the installation new copper gutters and downspouts. A new functioning areaway drain was installed at the west entrance. This phase of work did not include the slate roofs which were improperly repaired with tar in the past. To flash the connection between the new Kemper and the tar-covered slate, the slate and tar was cut at the base to allow the copper flashing to extended up under the pitched slate.

The project also addressed the southwest corner where the original architect had intended to build a tower. The tower was later abandoned and the corner masonry was never properly closed. The corner then became a persistent problem for decades. The roof over the corner was replaced with Kemper and similar copper flashing repairs, masonry voids were repaired and waterproofed, original exposed iron ties and cresting were conserved and stabilized.   Work was completed in 2012.

In 2014, site drainage repairs were performed on the south side of the building to prevent water infiltration at the kitchen, the boiler chimney masonry was repaired and additional select phased roofing and flashing replacement was performed.

The next phase of work anticipated for 2016 will focus on the limestone masonry at the Adam Clayton Powell facade on the west side.