PROFESSIONAL ALLIANCE SPOTLIGHT
(continued)
deGruchy. “I try to be true to the trade, and so whether
we’re doing a repair for Mrs. McGillicuddy and her
beautiful Victorian home in town and repairing her
chimney, or if it were the Taj Mahal, we focus on the
object of what we’re accomplishing and being true to
the trade.”
LimeWorks.us hosts homeowner workshops that teach
ways to restore and retain historic elements. deGruchy
often returns to his beloved alma mater, Williamson
Free School of Mechanical Trades, in Media, PA, to
share his professional experience with students. The
firm is partners with Adventures in Preservation, a
heritage tourism company based in Boulder, CO, where
preservation-minded travelers spend the first half
of their vacation relaxing, then work on a restoration
project in the area. “It’s been my goal at LimeWorks.us
to keep our prices as palatable as I can, because we want
it to trickle down to the everyday homeowner,” said
deGruchy.
Through Adventures in Preservation, deGruchy was
alerted to a community effort in Trappe, PA, to save the
boyhood home of the first U.S. Speaker of the House
from being razed to construct a Rite-Aid. Community
Mortar is carefully
applied to the spaces
between bricks using
a specialized tool.
Photo: LimeWorks.us.
21 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Fall 2013
organizers rallied, creating a 501(c)(3) called Save the
Speaker’s House, and successfully bought the land
from the developer. House in hand but with no more
to spend, the community turned to the Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission, who called
deGruchy, who in turn helped organize a volunteer
effort to restore the front facade of the house. With
LimeWorks.us’ help, the Frederick Muhlenberg House,
as it’s now known, regularly hosts archaeological digs,
preservation classes, and volunteer workshops to
continue to restore elements of the building. deGruchy
strives to commit his company annually to at least one
nonprofit project that demonstrates great need but has
limited funds and that might not otherwise find help.
LimeWorks.us employs two laboratory specialists on
its small team who create custom lime samples for
each project. deGruchy consults with architectural
conservators before recommending a course of action
for a structure. After all is settled and LimeWorks.
us’ job is finished, what’s left is more than a job well
done. What’s left, deGruchy hopes, endures long after
him, or the homeowners, or the project manager. He’s
not leaving his legacy on old buildings, but helping to
maintain theirs.