McLennan County must comply with state historical guidelines as it repairs the courthouse roof, or it could be slapped with costly penalties.

For starters, the 108-year-old historic courthouse could lose its status as a state archaeological landmark if the roof work does not meet the Texas Historical Commission’s standards.

The historical commission also has the option of suing the county.

Work continues on the roof of the McLennan County Courthouse.
Rod Aydelotte/Tribune-Herald

The commission has worked with the Texas Attorney General’s Office to levy fines against counties that did work to a state archaeological landmark without proper construction clearance, said Bess Graham, an architect in the commission’s Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.

The county awarded a $715,000 bid to Johnson Roofing in June to repair and waterproof the roof, which has long suffered water damage and leaks.

When the historical commission first objected to the roofing company’s plans to use epoxy to repair holes in the dome and statuary, as opposed to using metal, county officials pondered whether to simply abandon plans to fix damaged decorations and focus on the roof.

But Graham said it would be impossible to waterproof the roof without addressing the problems in the decorative elements.

“It seemed like a simple problem, to repair by just spraying more waterproofing on the roof,” Graham said. “But when we got into it, it was a lot more complicated, because that (method) could possibly cause damage or change the overall look of the courthouse.”

Because those same elements are part of the courthouse’s historical designation, the roof work must be carefully done to preserve its structural integrity. It’s a more costly route than the county originally planned.

The county now must hire an architect to produce drawings and specifications for each step of the roof repair before it can apply for a permit from the historical commission that would allow the work.

Those specifications would outline what sort of cleaning chemicals could be used on the roof and how they would be applied so as not to damage the rough fixtures.

“A lot of (the roof elements are) made of zinc — the statues and the ornaments on the dome — and it’s a very fragile, malleable metal,” Graham said. “It might cause it to fall apart if you hit it with a very high-pressure spray in applying the waterproofing.”

Graham also recommended a specialist who would survey, repair and reinstall the statues in zinc for around $80,000.

Delays can lead to more damage on the already fragile roof.

Water began seeping into the fourth floor of the courthouse Tuesday after a heavy downpour.

Johnson Roofing was able to plug the leak with a silicone mix to keep the water out, but it is only a temporary fix.

The county already hired a structural engineer to assess the damage on the dome after Johnson Roofing expressed concerns that the dome would not support scaffolding. The court will hear a report on the findings Tuesday.

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755

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