Reducing Moisture Infiltration in the Maritime History Building

FAIN: PT-50137-09

Maine Maritime Museum (Bath, ME 04530-2650)
Janice Kauer (Project Director: December 2008 to May 2009)
Amy Lent (Project Director: May 2009 to February 2010)

Maine Maritime Museum's nationally and internationally significant collections of art, ships models, tools, artifacts, manuscripts and photographs are housed in the 20-year old Maritime History Building. Despite the building's relative youth, a comprehensive, year-long, peer-reviewed engineering study of water penetration has concluded that the entire building's brick veneer must be removed, the foundation extended, the brickwork replaced, and a new roof-wall eave design installed to minimize water infiltration and maximize the bricks' ability to shed water. All windows must also be replaced with new ones correctly placed in the thermal plane. Because of the magnitude of the work, is it divided into two phases. Phase One is the subject of this grant request and involves the part of the Maritime History Building that is three stories tall housing the library, storage vaults, several small galleries, main lobby and administrative offices. Artifacts exist throughout the structure, and will be moved, stored and replaced as needed as work progresses.