166-Year-Old White Column House in Kennebunkport Gets Brick Chimney Restoration

Masonry Restoration

Challenge

One of Two Brick Chimneys Removed Long Ago

The Kennebunkport Historical Society has done a fantastic job of preserving White Columns over the years. The interior of the building is still decorated with original furnishings and is in excellent condition. However, the exterior has suffered damage as a result of the harsh Maine climate.

Originally, White Columns had two chimneys protruding out of the roof. Somewhere during the home’s 130-year history, one of the chimneys was removed and the roof was closed.

Years later, the Kennebunkport Historical Society decided to restore the second chimney to reestablish the historical integrity of the building.

About “White Columns”

White Columns is a Victorian-era home, formerly known as the ‘The Nott House’ located in the heart of the Kennebunkport village. Built in 1853 by the Perkins family and ending up as the Notts family home via marriage, this property was owned by the same family for 130 years. To this day, it still contains the original furnishings. The last Nott living at White Columns passed away in the 1980s and the home was donated by the family to the Kennebunkport Historical Society.

Today, tours of White Columns take place on a regular basis and include a brief history of Kennebunkport village, a maritime community once dedicated to shipbuilding. Throughout the tour, guests learn all about the Perkins-Nott family, as well as area sea captains and shipbuilders.

Guests can see the original furnishings of the home, which include hand-painted wallpaper, hand-hooked carpets, beautiful chandeliers and antiques throughout the home. Docents also elaborate on the important connection between the house and President Bush’s family who summered in Kennebunkport.

Recreating a Missing Chimney

Hascall & Hall was asked to repoint and replace some brick in the existing chimney as well as build up the second chimney from the roofline.

Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing (the external part of mortar joints), by removing about 1 inch of mortar and replacing it with new mortar. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between bricks allowing the undesirable entrance of water and debris.

The Hascall & Hall team started building up the second chimney from the roof line to restore its original appearance. The build-up required more than 400 bricks and specially chosen mortar to match the existing chimney as closely as possible.

Moreover, the existing chimney was aged and weathered, so Hascall & Hall experts needed to remove some deteriorated brick – a full repointing job was necessary to make both chimneys look identical again.

After the first chimney was built up and the second was repointed, there were once again two chimneys – restoring the original 1850s appearance. The Hascall & Hall team completed the job by washing the chimneys and leaving them ready to face another 170 years.

Hascall & Hall would like to thank the Kennebunkport Historical Society for the opportunity to work on this beautiful historic building. With the completion of the job, White Columns’ roof looked as perfect as when the Perkins family built it in 1853.

White Columns was a high-quality restoration job that will continue to tell the history of Kennebunkport for decades to come.

The crew at Hascall & Hall did a terrific job restoring the two chimneys at White Columns at the Kennebunkport Historical Society in Maine. From start to finish they took great care to inform us of the scope of the work, the steps to compete the work and the costs to complete the work. The crew was friendly, efficient and sensitive to our tourists. We were able to keep White Columns opened during this construction process. In a nutshell, the project was a complete success from start to finish!

–Dana Dakers, President of the Kennebunkport Historical Society

Location: Kennebunkport, Maine