A consultant hired by the Department of Enterprise Services will conduct a visual inspection of the masonry exterior of the Old Capitol building in downtown Olympia on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7, in preparation for repair work planned for later this year.

Case Forensics of Seattle will begin its inspection around 8 a.m. on Jan. 6 using a man lift, a bucket at the end of a hydraulic lifting system. The company will use the lift to inspect roofs, walls and windows of the historic structure.

The lift will occasionally be parked on nearby streets so the firm can reach different sections of the building. Enterprise Services is coordinating parking space closures with the city of Olympia and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the building tenant.

The lift will extend over adjacent sidewalk areas at times. The company will have personnel at street level to ensure pedestrians do not walk along the sidewalk or under the lift. Cones, safety tape and signs redirecting pedestrian traffic will be set-up around the work area.

Besides the sidewalk and parking closures, other impacts will include the beeping noise of the lift. A traffic plan for the work has been approved by the city of Olympia. The inspection work is expected to be completed by about 5 p.m. on Jan. 7.

The exterior inspection is the first step of a project – tentatively scheduled to begin later this spring– that will repair numerous leaks, which are causing interior damage to the building. The project will:

• Rehabilitate the building's original wood windows.
• Clean, caulk, repair and repoint the sandstone exterior.
• Replace the failed building skylights.
• Complete gutter, roof, flashing, drainage work and other exterior and interior repairs begun in 2015.

The project will improve tenant comfort and preserve historic materials by halting water infiltration and repairing the deteriorated exterior condition of the building. Replacement of the failed skylights will greatly enhance tenant work areas where plastic sheeting is used to protect from heat, glare and leaks.

The stone cladding of the Old Capitol building consists of Wilkeson, Tenino and Chuckanut sandstone veneer blocks over a masonry structure. The building opened in 1892 as the Thurston County courthouse. The state purchased it in 1902 for use as the state capitol building. The Legislature met there until the completion of the Legislative Building in 1928.

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