McGraw Tower underwent more than two years of renovation and restoration culminating with removal of scaffolding and installation of a new roof. The $7 million project included roof restoration, masonry repairs, weatherproofing, and work on adjacent Uris Library. Uncooperative weather and the need for roofers with specialized craft extended the schedule, requiring specialist subcontractors from Ottawa. The roof preserves its historic chevron pattern and deep gray hue, with lead-coated copper sheets, soldered pans, and wood decking carefully removed and replaced. The masonry appears brighter, the clockfaces crisper, and the new roof is expected to last another 100 years.
After more than two years of renovation and restoration, McGraw Tower is finally free of scaffolding. Above all - literally and figuratively - is a brand-new roof. "Everyone - from the designers and contractors to our campus roofing experts - expects it to last us another 100 years," says Jon Ladley, director of facilities planning for Cornell University Library. The steel support structure was visible during the renovation.
The $7 million project included not only restoring the roof, but numerous other repairs and weatherproofing to the tower, masonry and adjacent Uris Library. It had taken longer than anticipated, due in part to uncooperative weather, as well as the challenge of hiring roofers skilled in the required detail and craftwork. (Specialist subcontractors were brought in from Ottawa, Ontario, in Canada.) From a distance, the 173-foot-tall landmark seems much the same, albeit cleaner: the masonry is brighter, the four clockfaces crisper.
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