[MassHistPres] Steel Tomb Doors

[rcsmitharch at verizon.net]

For the restoration of the Beverly Powder House, we rebuilt the wood core of the door and reclad with galvanized sheet metal; nailing pattern to match the original and all painted.

Richard Smith
Restoration architect
Swampscott Historical Commission

-----Original Message-----
From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> On Behalf Of Dennis De Witt via MassHistPres
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2023 10:17 AM
To: Joyce Anderson <jabanderson at gmail.com>; MHC MHC listserve <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Steel Tomb Doors

It’s worth bearing in mind that they would have been iron, not steel.  Iron has the advantage of being vastly more rust resistant.  That said, sheet iron is now all but unavailable.  For this sort of exposed situation, you might want to consider having it galvanized.  Galvanizing was sometimes used by the mid-19th century — painted or sometimes overcoated with tar.

Below three photos of almost identical 1849 iron doors for tomb like Cochituate Aqueduct Gatehouses.  The first two ca. 1900.  The last current.  The strapping was riveted to the plate.

Dennis De Witt
Brookline


Exterior 1898, Brookline
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