TEXARKANA, Texas - Work on the Hotel Grim renovation continues, offering the community hope and a hubbub of activity in such uncertain times.
This week, tuckpointers have been pressure washing the building's west side, facing Pine Street.
"They will go back and examine the brick and stone for defects. Tuckpoint itself deals with mortar missing from the brick," said Tim Minson, Cohen-Esrey Development Group project manager.
If mortar is missing, workers will grind down and tuckpoint or replace it with new mortar and seal it so it does not erode and fall out, he said.
Most of the missing mortar is on the building's west side, he said.
"The area over there had more water damage where it ran down the building and got behind the brick and some of the limestone panels fell off," Minson said.
A company specializing in the process will reproduce the limestone to the way it was.
The entire building will be power washed, but it is hard to determine how long the process will take.
"It is almost like a triage with guys working on one side of the building and guys working on another side of the building," Minson said. "Along the way, they will pressure wash the brick and get the mold and green gunk off, 100 years of dirt."
The building's drying out phase after power washing may temporarily give it a odd appearance, he said.
On Wednesday morning, Minson said there were 36 men working in or on the building.
"As soon as the weather clears, it will be between 75 and 80 men working. With roofing, electrical, plumbing and framing, it will be like a small village," he said.
Minson said the top priority now is replacing the roof.
"Our big push now is to get a roof on. We are hoping the weather clears enough," he said.
Windows will be arriving in a about two weeks.
The standstill several schools and businesses have experienced because of COVID-19 concerns has so far not affected Hotel Grim's renovation/restoration.
"It has not affected any of our jobs. The subcontractors are not that concerned, but a lot of cities have shut down. If city halls shut down, there are no inspectors.all our jobs are in full progress..but we are being prepared as well as we can. We are going to keep charging and everything will continue as normal," Minson said.