It may look like smooth red stucco but have no fear: That odd red surface going over the exterior brick of the Mitchell Mansion at Naper Settlement in Naperville is authentic.
Called parge, it is a material that was used to cover poor quality brick and provide an even color and smooth surface.
Then lines were added over the parge in black or white to mimic grout.
Now, crews are using this outmoded process to restore the mansion to its appearance as of its construction in 1883.
What the staff at Naper Settlement doesn’t know is why Martin Mitchell, whose business was brick and tile, chose the parge technique for his mansion.
“He used low-quality brick, yet he was in the business,” said Debbie Grinnell, curator at Naper Settlement and project manager for the mansion’s restoration. “He might have been showing what you could build for less, or he might have just been frugal. We don’t know the answers.”
Martin’s decision to use parge has posed some interesting challenges for the restoration team. Very little original parge is left, so the remaining patches on the back-porch brick were used for color matching.
Once new parge is applied over the brick, it must be covered with sheets of plastic and watered for three straight days.
“It’s a long and intensive project,” said Grinnell.
Joe Strzelec agrees. A supervisor for the project’s masonry contractor, MBB Enterprises, he said he has never been involved in such a process.
And he said it will take four or five employees a full month to put in the black bead joint to give the appearance of grout lines.
“The tricky part will be the area around the windows and around the corners,” he said, showing a ruler-like tool that helps the workers measure the underlying bricks.
Restoring the masonry is one of many projects under way at the mansion, as part of its total $2.5 million renovation. Crews also have been replacing the mortar on the foundation and making it waterproof.
Approval of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency was required in every step in the process because the home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and some state money is involved in the project.
The Naper Settlement staff has committed to go beyond what’s required, said Grinnell, even to matching exactly the composition of the mortar in the foundation.
“We had a lab analyze it to get an exact match to what was used originally, including the size of the aggregate,” she noted.
Other projects under way include removing the non-historical wallpaper and restoration of the windows and interior window shutters. A new heating and ventilation system is being designed and could be ready for installation by spring.
The organization continues to look for funding to complete restoration of the settlement’s crown jewel. It is hoped the interior eventually will recapture the grandeur of a Victorian mansion.
“The decorating–that’s what everyone wants to see,” said Grinnell. “People don’t realize the work that goes into maintaining the structure prior to the furnishing stage.”
