Amana, Iowa - Tornado Repair & Restoration
160 mph winds had taken off the top story and roof.
A tornado ripped off 170 feet of roof taking the top floor with it.
We restored the missing upper story, 14 dormers, and roof with little to go on except a postcard from 1890 (below, right).
AFTER: See (on right) the line of new bricks up to the roof peak.
BEFORE: See
"Damaged" below).
The layout of the original building structure, 170 ft. long, exposed posts
so accurately built originally that they fell within 1/4" of perfect after
120 years. The challenge: Match that accuracy while
adding finish details that match historical photographs from the 1890's
(See below, "The Mill in 1890", the original building). The building was so long
that on a misty morning if you sent a man to the far end of the site,
he'd disappear in the mist 2/3's of the way to the end.
Read original paper article
More Info on :
The Handcrafted Amana Colonies.
Using an 1890 photograph and a crew of 4 local carpenters and laborers, we
returned the Woolen Mill's roof to how it looked over 125 years ago.
The Mill in 1890
Damaged
We begin
Wrapping up