Evening star., 1934-03-18

perts Of the Bureau Of Standards, be-
fore such a scheme Is adopted"
Nagle believed the visible effects of
the condensation inside the Monu-
ment could be rendered almost un-
noticeable by furring out and placing
a thin. coating of some kind sew
eral inches from the masonry.
AS this process would necessarily
hide all of the memorial tablets for
the entire height of the shaft, and
might necessitate major structural
operations, no particular study has
been given to it," he said.
Nothing Spectacular Involved.
1t is possible, he said, that a study
of the heating of the Monument
might prove profitable. Until re-
Gently it was not clear how a suffl-
cient supply of heat could be OBJ
tanned. Furthermore, the report
stressed, the Monument has hereto
fore remained unheated. and 1t was
apprehended that some traditional
aspects of the problem might be vio-
precedent.
According to the engineers, the
Washington Monument repair project
is 'prosaic undertaking from an
engineering standpoint, and but for
the conspicuous character of the
Monument might be described as
routine. Nothing of a spectacular
nature is involved in the work"
Nagel hastened to dispell the i'm
nresSion that doubtful or unsafe
conditions now exist"
Such opinions cannot be founded
on any facts disclosed by the investi-
CATION carried out, or on any state
ments made public from this office.
No structural conditions have been
observed which could be interpreted
as indicating the general condition
of the Monument to be unsound in
any particular" the report added.
On the contrary, it can be said
that structurally the Washington
Monument is in a good state of pres
ervation and that no untoward sys-
tematic conditions are believed to
exist"
For historical and other reasons"
Nagel pointed out. every attempt
will be made to preserve the Monu-
ment In its traditional appearance
and to carry out all proposed work
in such a manner as to leave as little
evidence as possible of any work hav-
ing been done" Only that work will
be undertaken which will not affect
appearance at all. except for thor
ough scrubbing of the exterior, but
which will tend to protect the surface
from the effects of weathering and
deterioration resulting from a cause
which Nagel says is no longer possi-
BILE to remove.
The report goes into detailed ac-
count of the methods to be employed |
in preserving the spalling of the mar
BILE exterior, especially in the lower |
and older part of the 150-foot level !
which has been repeatedly described |
in recent months. This spalling has |
been caused by the Overlooking OF
the exterior face blocks. especially at |
the horizontal face joints.
The condition has existed ever since
the Monument was completed ana |
there are some indications, he said, |
that the spalling of the marble was
noticed very soon thereafter although |
it was impossible then to remedy or
ameliorate the situation which was |
the primary cause of the Spalling.
Must Replace Stones.
Furthermore" he added. lit is i'm
possible at the present time to remedy |
this situation in any manner. The
best that can be done is to attempt to
remove as much of the load as pos
sible from near the edges of the stone.
as it is naturally at the joints that
the spalling has occurred"
In channeling the joints, care will
be taken to color the material so as
to prevent the new mortar used from
becoming too conspicuous. A good
many of the stones, especially in the
lower section, will have to be replaced
and these, too, will be cut to exact di-
mension. 1t is not likely that the
channeling and substitution of stones
will have to extend above the 150-
foot level, if that high.
No decision has been made, he said,
as to which channeling method will
be used.
The pointing of the joints will make
it necessary to give the exterior a
thorough scrubbing SO as to remove
all drippings of mortar and also to
restore the original whiteness of the
shaft which has withstood the ele-
ments for more than 40 years. Water
and vegetable fiber brushes will be
used on this job, mixing a safe
cleansing fluid with the water.
Mr.. Nagle expressed the hope that
the scrubbing would result in "a con-
more pleasing appearance
and less unfayorable public notice"