Administration Building at Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA

Project Background

The restoration of the Administration Building (Old Main), on the campus of Lebanon Valley College was undertaken in 2009 by General Contractor, Arthur Funk & Sons Inc. (AF&S) The project included restoration of the masonry facade, for which The Witmer Group was hired by AF&S to complete. The bulk of the work had to be completed between the class of 2009’s graduation in May of that year, and the start of the fall semester in August.

The project team faced some challenges in the project but successfully made the necessary adjustments, on the fly, so that the work could be completed in as smooth a sequence as possible, often without interruption. At times that extra effort might have involved a special off-hours hand delivery of a deteriorated piece to the cast stone manufacturer, 24/7 attention to shop/production drawings, another special delivery of the manufactured product back to the site, or a spur of the moment site visit by the structural engineer willing to give immediate on-site direction to the crew.

Other challenges included the cleaning of the existing masonry and color matching of replacement brick. Each challenge was met with optimism, persistence and uncompromising attention to quality and details. The project was a success due in large part to the cooperation among all involved parties (architect, structural engineer, owner, general contractor, and specialty contractors.)