Franklin County Courthouse, Pasco, Wash.

Architect: CKJT Architects, Kennewick, Wash.
Sheet Metal Contractor: McBride Sheet Metal Inc., Portland, Ore.

Time and nature had not been kind to the appearance of the Franklin County Courthouse. The original courthouse was built in 1913 and was badly in need of an upgrade.

McBride Sheet Metal, of Portland, Ore., was called in to complete the historical restoration work on the courthouse, which included the removal of the old galvanized and zinc roof as well as the ornamental metal.

McBride tackled the job of matching the existing roof and ornamental metal objects – not an easy assignment. The job was challenging because all of the ornamental pieces had to be reproduced to match the existing ones. McBride was able to do this by making molds and forming the metal in the molds and then finishing each one by hand. The only items outsourced were the crestings.

For the restoration work McBride used Revere Classic Copper metal – 350 sheets of 20-ounce copper and 24 sheets of 24-ounce copper for the hammer work. They also used rosin slip sheet as well as a high temperature ice and water underlayment.

While working on the roof, the temperature reached an unbearable 122 degrees in the late afternoon. The men were able to stay cool by using wet towels and wrapping them around their heads as turbans.

Overall the restoration of the courthouse was a huge success thanks to the cooperation with the general contractor, Lydig Construction and CKJT Architects. “By teamwork and cooperation we were able to turn a very challenging project into one that was a pleasure to work on,” noted Shirley McBride, owner of McBride Sheet Metal.