Brick almost complete, roof replacement next

Gary Kitchen of Outlaw Masonry moved along with repairs to the brickwork encasing Saluda City Hall Tuesday, Nov. 15.
“These bricks are more than 100 years old,” Kitchen said. “It’s important to keep that historical look because not many buildings have done so. Most people just plaster over them when they start to let water in because they don’t realize they can be repaired.”
Kitchen was about three-fourths of the way finished with the side wall of city hall, which is good news for the city as leaders Nov. 14 approved an almost $10,000 contract with All Weather Roofing and Construction for a new roof for the building.
Saluda Finance Director Ron Cole said the masonry refurbishing must be complete before moving onto the next phase.
“I’ve been 17 years in service [with Saluda] and every governing body has tried to find a way to do this,” Cole said. “We’re glad to be making progress.”
To move things along, the city set aside $10,000 in debt service and another $9,500 in budget appropriations for a total amount of $19,500. The critical work the city hopes to complete – refurbishing or replacing the roof, windows, brick, heating and air, tiles and metal facing on the front of the building – is expected to carry a price tag of about $135,000.
Part of this cost includes a decision to forgo a cheaper vinyl material window – $14,000 total – for an $18,000 version.
Cole said if the city did not go this route it would be next to impossible to get historical preservation grants because the windows would not provide a look similar to the windows seen in historical photos from the early 1900s.
“Then that enhances our ability to go after some of those historical preservation grants,” Cole said. “The public is very much in favor of keeping the building historically accurate and it will only help us to do so if we can pull in some of that grant money.”