The Wentworth Mansion

Completed in 1886, The Wentworth Mansion was built for a wealthy cotton merchant and his family. Built in second empire style, this elegant mansion is nearly 24,000 sq. ft. and has 4 stories. For Architecture in Society 102, we had a private tour through the mansion. I loved seeing all the different trades fit perfectly in one structure.

The elegant plaster ceilings were different in each room and designed specifically for the purpose of the room. 

A close-up of the ceiling in the master bedroom. 

Trim going up the stairwell. 

A view out of the third floor guest bedroom. 

The winding staircase leading to the roof section. This staircase is original and it made of hand forged iron.  

ACBA class of 2017. 

Bricklaying: The First Experience

For the rest of the semester we will be laying brick. This was our first try at it and it was enjoyable. We set up boards to practice and we will use those same boards and bricks until we have enough experience to build structures. 

A close up of the joints and view to show laying to the string line. 

Here, I am tapping down a brick with my trowel to put it in place and make sure it is level and plum with the others to create a straight wall.  

Fort Dorchester: The First Look

Fort Dorchester is a Colonial site from the 1600's. They have found foundations of georgian style houses. Us ACBA students are working to bring the foundations back to life and display what would have been hundreds of years ago. 

Here I am with my classmates and Professor Mallard visiting the site. 

This is the foundation layout of lot 17 at Dorchester. Last years freshmen built what is there now. Its our job to show what the inside wall foundations would have been. 

Rubber Mold Making

We had the opportunity to make a rubber mold for a project Professor Webb is working on. After many calculations and playing with numbers we came up with the right amount of rubber to make. Using specific ratios and mixing methods we had a "waste mold" in no time. 

 I am applying a release agent to the clay mold which will make the rubber easily peel off.  

In order to make the rubber workable, we had to add a thickener so we could pull the rubber up on the sides to keep it from slouching down. 

Not the prettiest but it does its job. The reason it is okay that it looks like this is  because it is a waste mold. A waste mold is created then used to cast a plaster positive to be touched up. After that positive is perfect, another mold is made of rubber and that will be the permanent rubber mold. 

Library day

The cold weather is keeping us from building with brick. So instead were taking a library day and watching videos about brick lying and catching up on portfolios. Hopefully it will warm up! 

Mixing mortar

These are my two classmates, Jackie and Alex. Were mixing up a batch of mortar for our stone wall. 

Stars for Drayton Hall

These are stars that I make for Drayton Hall, a historic plantation here in Charleston. These stars are replica stars that are on the ceiling in Drayton Hall. We use a hydrocal plaster to cast the stars. Once the mix is made I pour it into the rubber molds and let them dry. From there I take them out after they have completely dried and I clean them up with tools and sand paper. 

 

Building the Foundations

 For our section of the brick wall that we are building, we had to dig out a trench  and make a wood border out of lumber. We had to make sure that the ground inside the border was even before we could pour our foundation.

Once we had the dirt even, we were able to pour a layer of a concrete mixture and put flat stones in it for support and a firm structure.

 

Once that layer hardened, we topped it off with more concrete mix. We leveled that off with the top of the lumber border.

This is the final foundation. From here we were able to let the concrete dry and we took out the wood border and filled in the empty spaces with dirt.