Gee Heckscher - Letter of Recommendation
To Whom it May Concern,
Treeline Construction has just completed (except for weather-delayed exterior
painting) the voluntary seismic upgrade of the historic West Point Inn located on the
Old Railroad Grade 2/3 of the way up Mt. Tamalpais in Mill Valley, CA. They were
awarded the project on the basis of a competitive bid advertised and construction managed
by the Marin Municipal Water District, Owner of the building.
The project was initiated by the West Point Inn Association, a non-profit volunteer
organization that runs the Inn as a public facility serving hikers, bikers and overnight
guests. The building was built in 1904 as a way station for the tourist railroad and
transfer point for stagecoaches. It was taken over by volunteers in the 1940's when it
was threatened with demolition. Even though it survived the earthquakes of 1906 and
1989, it was considered a potential seismic risk given its 12" thick weathered rubble
stone foundation.
The building was vacated during the slow winter season to allow for the most timely
completion of the project. The principal elements included shotcreting the stone
foundation on the inside, removal and replacement of most of the shingles and skip
sheathing to allow for the insertion of plywood shearwalls and the shoring of the
entire roof of a 800 square foot 1920's addition to allow for a complete new
foundation, floor and exterior walls.
As in most preservation projects, the goal was to provide a project that belied any
work having been done. Where steel transfer braces were required inside the stone
walls, Treeline removed the affected stones, recorded and labelled each one, sliced
them to a 2" thickness and replaced them in their original position so that it is almost
impossible to tell what took place. The carpentry work and shingling on the walls
was done to match the original coursing, coping to rough stone chimneys and
rebuilding the coved skirt at the bottom which forms a drip outboard of the stone.
Many of the windows had rotted sash members that were specified to be epoxy filled.
Treeline opted lo remove the sash and take them back to their shop to make
replacement custom profiled stiles, rails and muntins. The rebuilt addition with its
original paneled walls and embossed paper wainscot shows no sign that any work
was done.
Throughout the project they were pro-active in suggesting creative ways to do things
and in identifying and solving problems. Their choice of materials was always geared
toward the long term such as with stainless steel staples for the shingles.
Treeline is a professional construction organization that takes great pride in its work
as witnessed by a recent punchlist of but 12 very minor items which represent about
four hours of labor to complete. Were it not for additional work added because there
was room in the budget and the weather, they would have met the original schedule.
As it was, they worked outside, miles over narrow mountain roads from the nearest
hardware store, in extremely difficult weather conditions in an effort to meet the
schedule. Of the three most important elements in any construction project - budget
schedule and quality work - they earned an A+ in all categories. I highly recommend
them, especially on any historic preservation project.
Gee Heckscher, Architect and member of WPIA
ARG Senior Associate