Belknap Mill gets new roof

By MICHAEL KITCH, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Barely three months after Peter Karagianis Jr., whose father led the effort to preserve the Belknap Mill, announced that the family was contributing $25,000 toward replacing the failed roof and challenging the community to match the gift, the work is underway.

Lisa Burke-McCoy of the Belknap Mill Society said Tuesday that the community quickly picked up the gauntlet. A generous donation from the Bank of New Hampshire and a timely grant from the McIninch Foundation, along with any number of contributions from individuals and families throughout the community, enabled the project to be put to bid and begun. She said that the cost of the work is expected to be approximately $65,000.

The roof has been leaking for some time, shedding shingles with each passing storm. At the same time, water has rotted and weakened timbers, jeopardizing the structural integrity of the roof. Tara Shore, operations manager at the mill, said that the mild winter and dry spring and summer spared the roof and with another winter approaching "It all came together just when we needed it. Sometimes God just hands it to you."

Burke-McCoy stressed that the project represents "a great community effort," noting that Jim French Home Improvement, a local contractor, placed the most competitive bid and is undertaking the work.

"We are very serious about our commitment to preserve this most important historical landmark," she said. "This is a great step forward and the first of many great things to come."

The sound of of footsteps and hammer blows overhead is music to the ears of attorney Matt Lahey, who has practiced law on the top floor of the mill for the past 17 years. For some of those years, buckets have been scattered around the office to catch the drips from the leaky roof and just last week water evaded impaired flashing to reach an electrical box. At the same time, he said that rotten timbers had become home and fodder for termites, some which found their way into the building. Lahey said that some of the leaks were plugged when the bell tower was repaired, but added that he was looking forward to many more years under anew roof at the top of the mill.

"This will be great," he said.

The crew at French Home Improvements work on shingling the roof at the Belknap Mill on Tuesday. (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)