fort pitt blockhouse restoration

Historic Restoration

Combining Tradition and Technology

Having several decades of experience restoring historic buildings, D.T. Mistick & Co. is a truly unique, one of a kind general contracting firm. We pride ourselves in understanding the construction components and building technology of that of older structures.

Church Restoration Group, a subsidiary of D.T. Mistick & Co., is nationally known for restoring historic and sacred places, such as churches, synagogues and mosques. Church Restoration Group has worked on hundreds of buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We bring to each project years of experience and a fresh outlook on the many construction challenges a historic building or sacred place presents. No other company offers such a complete team of experts in preconstruction, design, estimating, project management, and emergency response. They bring with them traditional building methods and the very best of contemporary systems.

Call on D.T. Mistick’s experts to address:

A client referral list is available on request.

Case Study

The Fort Pitt Museum describes the Fort Pitt Blockhouse as “not only the last surviving building of the original fort and Pittsburgh's earliest building, but the oldest authenticated structure west of the Allegheny Mountains.” D.T. Mistick's 2003 involvement with this historic structure was to assist in the preservation, restoration, and replacement of certain elements of this 1764 constructed building.

CASE STUDY: Historic Restoration

Fort Pitt Blockhouse

The Fort Pitt Museum describes the Fort Pitt Blockhouse as “not only the last surviving building of the original fort and Pittsburgh's earliest building, but the oldest authenticated structure west of the Allegheny Mountains.” D.T. Mistick's 2003 involvement with this historic structure was to assist in the preservation, restoration, and replacement of certain elements of this 1764 constructed building.

While removing the one inch concrete slab, a team of archeologists were brought in to excavate the dirt floor, sifting through approximately 18 inches of dirt for artifacts. D.T. Mistick replaced the slab with a four inch concrete slab with exposed aggregate, giving texture and rustic detail to blend with the building.

D.T. Mistick's crews also restored the masonry foundation by carefully removing any visually disruptive mortar joints of the interior stone and brick walls. All repointing of the masonry was performed with hand tools to match the original restoration work of 1911. The team also took out and replaced the stairs leading down to the building.

The cedar shake roof was pressure washed along with the replacement of any damaged shingles. The existing wood gutter with copper gutter liner assembly was also replaced.

The team also worked on many of the wood details for the building. A new entrance door and frame was fabricated using the same tools that an 18th century craftsman would have used, giving the door an uncanny authentic appearance while utilizing the existing hardware and metal work. Work also included the inspection and repair of the exposed wood timers and applying a new preservative coating to all exposed surfaces.

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PA Home Improvement Contractor PA4373