Century-old plaster falling down at Ashland courthouse; repair begins this month
Ceiling problems in courtroom No. 1 at the Ashland County Courthouse have not been caused by roof leaks or weather damage. Rather, it's simply an issue of age.
“The ceiling has simply used it’s life up,” Commissioner James Justice said. “We are starting to get small holes and pockets and if you are going to shut (the courtroom) down you better get it all and get it done."
Benches were removed Saturday, and the contractor is expected to begin work April 22 or 29.
Ashland County commissioners authorized a resolution to declare an emergency concerning the ceiling in order for work to begin sooner rather than later. The county will not have to put the job out for bid.
“It is falling down," said Commissioner Denny Bittle. "That was plastered over 100 years ago so it is lot heavier and a different type of plaster than will go up. There is a safety issue with it. It is right over where a lot of people sit.”
“And the jurors,” added Commissioner Mike Welch.
Welch said the county carries the liability, the board is aware, so something needed to happen.
“So that is why it is an emergency,” Bittle said. “To pull that whole ceiling down we have to pull all the benches and completely clear the room out.”
Cost at about $230,000, including electrician, other expenses
The cost of the repair work, including clearing out and putting back in the benches and completing the ceiling work will be about $230,000, Bittle said.
The figure includes electrician and ancillary expenses. Mitchell’s Movers 3G will be in charge of the removal and storage of the public seating.
Bittle said even though the county did not have to go out for bids, several contractors were talked with.
Court to be held on second floor of Job and Family Services
Justice said court proceedings will temporarily be held on the second floor of the Job and Family Services building, which has been "setup, secured and checked over by the sheriff, bailiff and all that. It is not nearly as fancy as where it is at, but it is very viable and very usable. We will still be able to carry on with court duties.”
The repairs are expected to take four to five months.
“Part of the problem is not knowing what is up underneath all that old horsehair ceiling," Justice said. "It is going to be quite an adventure. You just do not know what you are going to get into.”
Commissioners accepted an estimate from Simonson Construction in the not-to-exceed amount of $210,000 with BCU Electric having its $10,500 estimate accepted for the removal, re-installation and purchase of additional light fixtures.
Bittle said Simonson has sub-contracted a company out of Fremont that specializes in restoration of older buildings.
Commissioners checked references
“So that somebody with experience has done this before,” Bittle said. “It is not new to them and we thought that was obviously very important that you don’t throw plaster into an old building like that.”
Welch said the subcontractor has successfully finished similar projects.
“They had also done the Athens County Courthouse and I checked the reference out,” Welch said. “They were very pleased with their work. They have also done a lot of historic buildings in Newark. They seem very reputable.”
Justice said reputation was one of the key areas the board was looking at.
“We couldn’t just get anybody,” he added. “It is a historical building and we have to put it back as close to that as possible.”
Justice said they could have tried to patch the failing areas, but there was concern they would be back in the same situation later on.
Bittle said the patch quote was $135,000.
“It is a great, old building, so we have to keep up with it,” Bittle said.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland courthouse ceiling work begins soon; benches removed
