A one-ton piece of sandstone will be lifted off a lower section of the Legislative (Capitol) Building on Oct. 16 as part of an exterior repair project.

D&R Masonry Restoration, Inc. will use a heavy-duty forklift to temporarily remove a large sandstone section of the west rampart, a low wall that slopes down along the north steps of the building. The contractor will also remove several granite steps next to the rampart to access the sandstone piece.

The stone and granite are being removed so a new waterproof membrane can be installed beneath it. Rainwater has been leaking into the underground parking garage from the ramparts on both sides of the north stairs.

Once the west rampart work is complete, the contractor will move to the east side of the stairs to repeat the process.

This work completes a second, $450,000 phase of exterior cleaning and repairs on the building, replacing mortar and cleaning stone on the lower elevations of the north side. Enterprise Services successfully completed exterior repairs and cleaning on the dome and upper floors of the Legislative Building last year. The current project phase is scheduled to be finished by the end of this month.

The north entry to the Legislative Building will remain open during the sandstone removal, as it has throughout the project, but the western half of the north stairs and plaza will be closed during the work.

Other minor impacts to tenants and visitors caused by the work include some noise, dust and odors from the weatherproofing application.

The state installed a waterproof membrane and snowmelt tubing system below the north stairs in 2000, but there were insufficient funds to extend the material to below the ramparts.

The current work will remove existing waterproofing material underneath the ramparts, thought to have been installed in the 1920s, and replace it with a new membrane. The contractor will then conduct a water test on the waterproofed area to check for leaks before resetting the stones.

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