Council Discusses Repairs at Heller Homestead

in Lower Saucon Township is well-maintained by the Saucon Valley Conservancy, which is the not-for-profit organization that calls it home. Nevertheless, as an historic building, it is often in need of maintenance and repair.

At Lower Saucon Township Council's Oct. 19 meeting, council members discussed some of the homestead-related maintenance issues the conservancy recently reported to the township, which owns the building.

The first area of ongoing concern is the roof on a small outbuilding known as the root cellar, which is located behind the main house at 1890-1892 Friedensville Road.

A plan is in place to replace the asphalt tiles that were on the root cellar roof with slate shingles, which will be more in keeping with the structure's historic character.

However, a snag in the replacement plan was hit when the asphalt shingles were removed over the summer during a slate roof workshop, Township Manager Jack Cahalan explained.

"When the asphalt material was removed, they discovered that the support beams were rotted," he said.

Since then, the local craftsman who plans to re-do the roof, Marcus Brandt, has also offered to frame the roof for $500, council members learned.

The cost of putting slate on the roof is expected to be $700, so council vice president Tom Maxfield made a motion to approve funding the entire project with the requirement that its cost not exceed $1,200.

That motion was approved unanimously.

Councilwoman Priscilla deLeon, who is president of the Saucon Valley Conservancy, noted that although cracks have appeared in the art gallery floor inside the main house, there aren't "significant cracks" in the walls of the gallery.

She said she wasn't sure if that meant that the floor had settled.

Council also heard about leakage occurring in the main home's upstairs hallway, as well as in a rear sunroom addition.

Cahalan said that the 15-year-old rubber roof on the sunroom is "pulling away from the main house that it's attached to" and "failing," and told council that Alan Kunsman Roofing has submitted an estimate to replace the roof and flashing for about $4,000.

Lastly, wooden windows all around the main building need to be scraped and repainted, and four windows on the building's north side--along Friedensville Road--need "major repair," Cahalan said.

Cahalan concluded the conversation by telling council members that he will present them with more detailed information about the repairs needed at the main house at a future meeting.