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LUCERNE, Calif. – For the past two days the sound of roofers' hammers has floated through the Lucerne air, as work has gotten quickly under way to reroof the historic Lucerne Hotel.
The hotel – or “The Castle” as it's called by those who know and love it – is in the first phases of needed repairs and renovations since the county took ownership of the building at the start of the month.
On Oct. 12 the Board of Supervisors, sitting as the Lake County Redevelopment Agency, approved hiring Lucerne Roofing & Supply to replace half of the building's roof for $263,000. The roof's other half had been replaced by the building's previous owner, Castlepoint Ministries.
County staff had told the board on Oct. 12 that the roof was among the priority items, and it was important to get the roof replaced before the rainy season arrives.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox also emphasized the desire to have the building's renovations be an economic engine for the area, and so the county went with Lucerne Roofing & Supply for the work.
The company's owner, Paul Parlee, used to live in an A-frame on Foothill Drive, within sight of the building, and he's looking forward to dressing the Castle up.
“That building is outstanding,” he said. “I love that building.”
He's also grateful that county leaders agreed to keep the work in the county, because he's got 15 families depending on him, and the job is helping him keep local people employed in a time when he's down in job volume by 60 percent.
Parlee said he was having his roofers get to work on the easiest side of the building, the back facing the hillside, which requires they only be 50 feet off the ground, versus the 90 feet off the ground that they'll be when working on the building's front. They started work on Tuesday.
Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely, who is checking in on the work daily, said Thursday that it was going well.
“They did get the tar paper up, so we actually are watertight and we can take a little rain right now,” said Seely.
Roofers plan to work from Friday through Sunday, weather permitting, he said. Rain is forecast for Friday, and some rain fell overnight in the town.
“We're anticipating that we are going to have weather delays, and that will stretch this job out,” Seely said.
Depending on the weather, replacing half of the roof could take between two and a half to four months, Parlee said.
Parlee, who has been in business for 51 years in Lake and Mendocino counties, said he's done some big roofing jobs, including the WorldMark Resort in Nice and government projects in Ukiah.
“This is one of the biggest but it's one of the most dangerous jobs we've ever done,” he said.
His men wore harnesses and cables as they scaled the steep pitch of the roof on Thursday.
The unique job has required both extra safety measures like harnessing plus scaffolding, which Parlee had to bring in from Santa Rosa. County officials said in the Oct. 12 discussion that the scaffolding was a big expense in the job.
Both Parlee and Seely said the building's original redwood roof structure is in excellent shape. Seely said the roofing boards measure 1 inch by 8 inches, a size that isn't in common use today.
Parlee said the building's construction “is absolutely fabulous,” with little dry rot to speak of, which he said is unheard of for an older building. He said he's pulled off roofs on 15 year old homes to find serious dry rot.
“It is in excellent shape – and I mean excellent – for an 85 year old building,” Parlee said.
Seely agreed, saying the roof structure is “as sound as the day it was put in.”
There are two small areas on the roof where they found discoloration because the original wood shingle roof had leaked, and those areas are being addressed, Seely said.
Parlee said his crews are putting down a 30 pound base sheet which will make the roof 100-percent water tight. They will then put down a “lifetime shingle” that's good for 50 years. Placing the composite shingles is something that can be done during the rainy weather, he said.
Woodpeckers have eaten through the redwood on the front of the roof's dormers, so Parlee's workers are putting up new 1-inch by 6-inch boards with 1-inch by 2-inch single molds.
Parlee said they've discovered in taking off the composite tiles that they're actually removing three roofs – the original wooden shingles, plus two different composite roofs. Each time a new roof had been put down, it was simply layered over the previous roof, he said.
Roofers on Thursday were tearing the layers off and dropping them to the ground, where they'll remain until Cal Fire's Konocti Conservation Crew arrives next week. Seely said the crew will separate out the wood and divert it from the landfill, and remove the other tiles.
The crew also will trim bushes and pull away dirt that has accumulated against the building's foundation, he said. “We'll have them out here for a couple weeks doing general maintenance and cleaning the place up.”
A 17-man crew with a fire chief will cost the county $250 a day, said Seely. “It's a good deal and these guys produce. They're not going to lean against a shovel,” he added, noting he has worked with them on the Ely Stage Stop project in Kelseyville.
Other work around the building already has taken place, including a visit from an arborist, who pruned back trees over the roof, removed two dead trees and took out two live trees that were in danger of damaging the building, he said.
Seely said the county plans to soon put out a bid packet for repainting the building, which will help seal the stucco, which in in pretty good shape overall but has some areas of damage that will be repaired in a future job.
“We're doing one step at a time so we don't overstep our budget,” he said.
Once the building's paint job is awarded, then they will look at the building's 330 double hung windows, most of which are original and in need of reglazing. Seely said reglazing usually has to happen every 20 years, but these windows have lasted 80 years.
Some windows will need to be rebuilt, and a local company – B&D Window Sash Co. in Clearlake Oaks – does such specialized work. Seely said the company also has rebuilt replica windows for the Ely Stage Stop.
There are plans to rebuild the Castle's dormers, which are currently weather-tight but will be reconditioned, Seely said.
No decision has yet been made about what should be done with the building's swimming pool. “It's a very nice pool and it's in good condition,” said Seely, adding that they've not surveyed it to see if it meets commercial standards.
As the county moves forward with fixing up the building, Seely said one of the areas they'll explore will be a new heating and cooling system. As county officials start looking at that system and energy efficiency, they'll have a discussion on whether a solar installation makes sense. Seely has talked to Pacific Gas & Electric about conducting an energy efficiency audit on the building.
Seely said the county already is getting inquiries from individuals and groups wanting to hold events at the Castle.
Before they even closed escrow they had a request to use the building for a November wedding, and got another request this week for an event next year.
“We don't want to commit to dates yet,” said Seely, but county officials are moving forward with getting the interior ready to provide meeting and event space.
See videos of the roofing work at Lake County News' YouTube Channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .
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