Mineola Report

8/11/2019 Mineola Report

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Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

10 South LaSalle Street, Suite 2600

Chicago, Illinois 60603

312.372.0555 tel | 312.372.0873 fax

www.wje.com

Headquarters & LaboratoriesNorthbrook, Illinois

Atlanta | Austin | Boston | Chicago | Cleveland | Dallas | Denver | Detroit | Honolulu | Houston

Los Angeles | Minneapolis | New Haven | New York | Princeton | San Francisco | Seattle | Washington, DC

Via E-mail:[email protected]

June 18, 2013

Ms. Lisa DiChieraLandmarks Illinois

53 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1315Chicago, Illinois 60604-3699

Re: Mineola Hotel, Fox Lake, Illinois

WJE No. 2013.3098

Dear Ms. DiChiera:

At the request of Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois (Landmarks), Wiss, Janney, Elstner

Associates, Inc. (WJE) performed a condition assessment of the overall structural integrity of the MineolaHotel located at 90 Cora Avenue in Fox Lake, Illinois. Landmarks requested WJE evaluate the currentcondition of the building and provide an opinion regarding the overall structural condition and stability of

the Hotel.

Background

Our evaluation was performed on June 16, 2013, and included visual observations from grade andaccessible interior areas. A few areas of the building were not accessible due to a previous floor

breakthrough.

At the time of construction, the Mineola Hotel was the largest wood-frame building in the state of Illinois.

The hotel was built in 1884 by members of the Chicago Board of Trade as a private clubhouse. In 1891, itwas converted to a public hotel to accommodate the growing number of tourists to the Chain OLakesarea. The current owners family took title to the building in 1943, ceasing hotel operations in the 1960s

but maintaining a first-floor restaurant and basement-level bar until the 2000s. The building is listed onthe National Register of Historic Places. The Village of Fox Lake condemned the building in 2012 andhas been engaged in court proceedings with the owner regarding its deteriorated condition.

The building sits on a site that slopes from west to east, resulting in four full stories on the east facade

fronting Fox Lake and three stories on the west facade facing the parking lot. The four-story (basementplus three floors above grade) wood-frame hip-roof structure is essentially rectangular in plan with aslight kink roughly in the middle. The building footprint measures approximately 66 feet in the east-west

direction and 280 feet in the north-south direction. A gable-roofed tower, roughly 15 feet by 15 feet inplan, is incorporated into the east facade. Historically, a 16 foot wide two-story covered porch extendedalong the full length of the east, north, and south facades at the first and second floors. Historic

photographs indicate that the original roof configuration incorporated larger dormers and balconies

flanking the main tower at the fourth floor (Figure 1). It is not clear when the roof was reconfigured toincorporate eight smaller dormers along the east facade and single dormers on the north, east, and south

facades (Figure 2). At some point, the third-floor (second story) portion of the porch was removed,including the roof extension that incorporated the dormers and balconies for the fourth-floor rooms.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Guest rooms at the second through fourth floors are accessed from double-loaded corridor that extendsthe length of the building. A one-story wood-frame addition with a port cochere abuts the east facade. The

construction date of the addition is not known. An aerial view of the hotel with the various components is

shown in Figure 3. Overall aerial views of the building are shown in Figures 4 through 6. Various viewsof the exterior in its current state are shown in Figures 7 through 9.

Figure 1. Historic photograph of east facade of Mineola Hotel likely circa 1900. (Photocourtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fox_Lake_IL_-_Mineola_Hotel.jpg)

Figure 2. Historic photograph of Mineola hotel from northeast likely circa 1920s. (Photocourtesy http://www.google.com/search?q=mineola+hotel+fox+lake+il&hl)
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Ek0bzMsxdCW3lM&tbnid=JD1vzKT_Gjj0NM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://stampauctionnetwork.com/zi/zi4544.cfm&ei=4ie-UYzONcXTyAG2u4CgDg&bvm=bv.47883778,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNGrNsbU2qxkqKJhRwiO-RDAjhZfAA&ust=1371502777817650http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=pQCnjx0UemRk_M&tbnid=Jheh256QKooy1M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fox_Lake_IL_-_Mineola_Hotel.jpg&ei=VSe-UeL4F6bmyQHgjIH4BA&bvm=bv.47883778,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNGrNsbU2qxkqKJhRwiO-RDAjhZfAA&ust=1371502777817650


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Figure 3. Aerial view of Mineola hotel (Photo courtesy Google)

Porch

Hotel

Addition

Tower

Basement

N


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Figure 4. Aerial view of the Mineola Hotel from the east (Photo courtesy bing.com)

Figure 5. Aerial view of the hotel from the north (Photo courtesyhttp://newssun.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/?story=5492312)


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Figure 6. Aerial view of the west facade of the hotel (Photo courtesy bing.com)

Figure 7. Overall view of the hotel in its current state viewed from thenortheast


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Figure 8. Current view of the east facade of the hotel

Figure 9. View of the west facade of the hotel and addition including port

cochere

The structural system of the Mineola hotel consists of balloon-framed exterior walls (Figure 10) set on a

rubble stone foundation. Wood clapboards are attached directly to the regularly spaced 2x exterior wall


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framing. Interior finishes consist of plaster applied to wood lath anchored to the 2x wall and floor

framing. The floor structure consists of regularly spaced 2x wood joists spanning east-west with wood

beams supported at the basement and first floor with regularly spaced wood columns. The basement

extends roughly 16 feet past the east, south, and north walls of the building below the wood-frame porch.

First-floor framing extends over the basement area and is supported by wood beams that align with the

walls above and are supported by regularly spaced columns. At the second through fourth floors, guest

room floor framing spans over the corridor walls that function as bearing walls. Regularly spaced 2x

rafters and joists create the gable roof and dormers.

Major repair work was reportedly performed on the exterior of the building in the late 1970s, includingreplacement of the asphalt shingle roof. As part of the roof replacement, areas of deteriorated sheathingwere replaced, and an additional layer of plywood was installed over the original 1x wood sheathing. The

porch decking was also removed and replaced with a layer of plywood over the original wood framing

and tongue and groove flooring over the plywood. In addition, the porch columns at the first floor were

replaced with new wood columns.

The beam below the east exterior wall at the first floor was also replaced in the late 1970s. Reportedly thebeam was deteriorated due to prolonged water infiltration at the interface between the porch and the

exterior wall (Figure 11).

Figure 10. Schematic depiction ofballoon framing similar to that usedat the Mineola (Photo courtesyhttp://homecents.com/gloss/framing

/Index.html)
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=q4Retigt58470M&tbnid=_r_1Ymgli8vpMM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://homecents.com/gloss/framing/Index.html&ei=vS2_Uem2E-r1ygH35oHwBw&bvm=bv.47883778,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNHnqreW7vpOoKhBBvdJeLfP1-KFMw&ust=1371569639252205


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Figure 11. View of underside ofreplacement beam extending along the

east facade at the first floor. View frombasement.

Interior Observations

1.

Cracked and debonded plaster as well as peeling paint exists throughout the interior of the building

(Figures 12 and 13).

2.

Evidence of water infiltration on the ends of the floor joists at the third and fourth floors exists at

locations below the edges of the dormers on the east facade (Figures 14 through 16). At some

locations significant deterioration of the joists was evident (Figure 18).

3. Indications of localized floor deflections exist at various locations below dormers (Figure 12 above).

4. A partial breakthrough of the floor decking has occurred at one location of the fourth floor (Figures

17 and 18).


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Figure 12. Cracked and debonded plaster as well as peeling paint oninterior wall perpendicular to the exterior wall. Arrow indicates wood lath.

Dashed line indicates deflection of the wall/door frame.

Figure 13. Cracked and debonded plaster as well as peeling paint on anexterior wall


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Figure 14. Indications of previous water infiltration at exterior wall at thirdfloor

Figure 15. Indications of previous water infiltration at exterior wall atfourth floor ceiling/roof interface. Note plywood roof sheathing installed

over original 1x planks


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Figure 16. Indications of previous water infiltration at exterior wall atfourth floor ceiling/roof interface. Note plywood roof sheathing installedover roof rafters

Figure 17. Localized breakthrough of fourth floor decking adjacent toexterior wall


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Figure 18. Advanced decay at the ends of the of fourth floor joists at

exterior wall at localized breakthrough

Exterior Observations

1. Numerous areas of deteriorated wood clapboards throughout the exterior facade (Figures 19 and 20).

The most significant deterioration tended to be coincident to the bottom edges of the dormers.

2.

Areas of deteriorated wood trim at various areas throughout the exterior facade (Figure 21).

3. Deterioration at the bases of the replacement columns installed in the late 1970s (Figure 22).


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Figure 19. Representative area of deterioratedclapboards and wood trim on north facade of hotel

Figure 20. Representative area of deteriorated clapboards and wood trim oneast facade of hotel


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Figure 21. North facade of hotel. Note deteriorated clapboards and missingand deteriorated wood trim.

Figure 22. Deterioration at base of wood columns that were installed in the

1970s


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Discussion

Generally, the current condition of the Mineola Hotel is consistent with a building that has been

minimally maintained over the past twenty to thirty years. Deterioration of the roof in the vicinity of someof the dormers has resulted in ongoing water infiltration and subsequent deterioration of the floor joists at

the third and fourth floors. The deterioration of the floor framing appears to be generally limited to the

ends of the floor joists below the edges of the dormers. Deterioration of the clapboards is also most

pronounced adjacent to the ends of the dormers and is also due to the poorly maintained dormers, which

have resulted in improper water shedding and continued water infiltration.

Cracking of the interior plaster is consistent with plaster installed on wood lath and wood framing.

Seasonable temperature variations in combination with changing moisture content of the wood framing

result in cracking of the relatively stiff and brittle plaster. Similarly, the plaster keys that engage the wood

lath will eventually break, resulting in portions of the plaster becoming debonded. Peeling paint on

interior finishes is also common when buildings remain unconditioned for prolonged periods of time.

Conclusions

While there are localized areas of deterioration and damage within the Mineola Hotel that require repair

prior to implementing a repair or restoration project for the Hotel, the structural systems of the building

are generally intact and serviceable. Areas of significant deterioration of the third and fourth floors and

roof framing are limited to the ends of the members and are the result of water infiltration through the

roof, particularly at the edges of the dormers. The majority of the observed damage and deterioration is

limited to exterior and interior finishes including clapboards, trim and interior plaster. This deterioration

is the result of lack of adequate water management from the roof run-off. Specifically, no roof overhangs

exist, and no gutter or downspouts were installed during previous modifications to the roof.

Deterioration of the more recently installed wood members including the porch columns and various other

supplemental wood framing installed is also the result of water infiltration. In the case of the porch

columns, it is likely that the ends of the columns were not painted, and, as a result, the end grain of the

wood was susceptible to deterioration.

Recommendations

Based on our observations, we recommend the following prioritized repairs:

Priori ty 1:

1.

Install temporary shoring along the exterior wall of the east facade to temporarily support the floorframing at the third and fourth floors. This shoring should remain in place until the floor framing has

been repaired.

2. It is likely that some deterioration of the ends of the floor joists and roof rafters has occurred as a

result of the condition of the roof, particularly at the edges of the dormers. Therefore, an evaluation

the ends of the floor and roof framing should be performed during the repair work. Deteriorated joists

should be repaired, reinforced, or replaced.


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3.

Replace deteriorated columns that support the roof of the porch. Shoring should be installed to

support the porch roof structure during the repair process. Alternatively, the entire porch roof

structure could be removed and reconstructed.

4. Replace the existing roofing, and incorporate gutters and downspouts. Downspouts should be

connected to the storm sewers if permissible or discharged away from the building. Deteriorated

sheathing should be replaced and rubberized membrane should be installed along all valleys and

adjacent to all gutters. Alternatively, the roof could be reconstructed as it was historically to create the

appropriate overhangs that would incorporate the gutters and downspouts.

Priori ty 2:

1. Replace isolated areas of deteriorated wood clapboards and trim on the exterior of the building. All

new clapboards and trim should be back-primed with particular attention to end grain.

2. Evaluate remaining porch framing. Repair or replace deteriorated members.

3. Depending on the planned future use of the building, perform a structural analysis to determine the

capacity of the existing structural systems. Supplemental structural support may be necessary to

support current code defined loads.

Priori ty 3:

1.

Remove and replace all deteriorated interior plaster. All existing wood trim should be removed and

salvaged for reinstallation following repair of the interior finishes.

2. Scrape and paint all remaining exterior wood clapboards and trim.

3. Consider installing insulation and a vapor barrier in the exterior walls at the time the interior plaster is

repaired or replaced.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss our findings, please do not hesitate to contact WJE.

Sincerely,

WISS, JANNEY, ELSTNER ASSOCIATES, INC.

Edward Gerns

Principal

Mineola Report

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Transcript of Mineola Report