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Existing Conditions

Introduction
Current Uses of the Library Building
Existing Conditions
Necessary Repairs
Library Restoration Committee

Introduction

Interior, front rooms Bondurant is the center of the Hoback Basin and, together with the Church of St. Hubert the Hunter, the Library is its heart.

Current Uses

Step inside the Library today, and you will be amazed at what it holds. There are stacks of books and BCC supplies in the first room. There are two refrigerators in the second room pressed forward by the empty bookshelves behind them. Next to the refrigerators are a long table, chairs and stacks of miscellaneous BBQ supplies. The back room is dark, its wood shelves and countertops waiting only for use during the BBQ.

For several days each year, strenuous activities take place as the community prepares for BCC events. An extraordinary amount of work occurs on advance of the BBQ: cleaning and scrubbing as the "pie room" in back receives a thorough going-over, and stocking supplies and provisioning all dry goods. Most of the materials are stored in the second room, and the refrigerators are packed! On BBQ day the Library is in use all day as volunteers bring together a meal for 500-1000 people.

Heritage Days preparations also begin many days in advance, as donated materials are stored beneath the shed roof and inside the Library. Donated books in particular are stacked and displayed, and the building is open to browsers during the event.

Porch Otherwise, the building is used each and every day for storage throughout the year.

Clearly, the little log building has a higher calling.

The Committee's goals:

to stabilize the building and protect it from further deterioration
to restore the building to its original condition
to enhance its function for the community's benefit
to accomplish these tasks while respecting the building's historical character and maintaining its historic designation as determined by the interested government agencies

Existing Conditions

The Church received plumbing, a new metal roof and a masonry foundation in 1980. Its lovely pale logs were recently cob-blasted and are sealed regularly.

But the Library structure has received no such attention and, although it was built within a few years of the Church, it is in far worse condition:

The soil immediately around the building has settled so the building now rests in a hole sunk below the surrounding grade. Ground water is high (2' below grade +/-) so there is danger of rot.
As is typical of many buildings of its era, there was no masonry footer or foundation used. The existing dry-stacked block base has sunk unevenly into the ground and blocks are tipping and teetering.

As a result of uneven settling the log courses are separating and large gaps appear in corners and beneath the eaves.
The round pole chinking is missing in some places.
Several of the lower log tiers, and logs below the windows, are rotted and must be repaired or replaced.
The windows gape and do not seal.
The roof received new rolled asphalt approximately 6-8 years ago which its builder tells us will need replacing soon.
The building is not ADA accessible.
A shed-roofed structure directly abutting the Library interferes with potential ADA access.

Inside there are a few functional problems, primarily accessibility and safety:

The single interior door is not ADA accessible.
The floor is soft in many places - it is possible the floor joists may be resting directly on earth.

Fortunately, none of these conditions are insurmountable.

Necessary Repairs

South facade

The current restoration project addresses the foregoing problems in its goal of stabilizing the building and preventing further deterioration.

See The Restoration Project: Stabilize and Restore for necessary repairs and additional improvements.

See Future Improvements and Upgrades for possible future work items and ultimate uses of the preserved building.

Library Restoration Committee

In July 2009, the all-volunteer Library Restoration Committee was formed to coordinate the hoped-for salvage operation. The Committee's goals:

to stabilize the building and protect it from further deterioration
to restore the building to its original condition
to enhance its function for the community's benefit
to accomplish these tasks while respecting the building's historical character and maintaining its historic designation as determined by the administering government agencies

For more information, contact a Committee member.