Sun-Baked Round Island Lighthouse Gets Facelift
By Karen Gould

Scraping of the lead paint is complete and scaffolding is in place as the crew works on painting Round Island Lighthouse.

Round Island Lighthouse needed painting. After 10 years of being sun-baked, wind-blown, and ice-covered, areas of the old paint had been stripped away, mortar had eroded, and some bricks were compromised. In September, the lighthouse received exterior renovation work and a coating of latex paint that will help preserve it for years to come. Special funding made the rejuvenation possible.

The height of Round Island Lighthouse and the lead paint that remained on the brick and wood surface did not bother specialty painter Tom Wulf, whose company was hired to take on the exterior restoration of the Lake Huron beacon.

Tom Wulf (left) led a crew of six on painting Round Island Lighthouse. Russ Sutton of the U.S. Forest Service made daily visits to the site to inspect their work.

The biggest obstacle turned out to be getting to and from the lighthouse each day with their equipment, navigating unpredictable winds and waves in the Straits of Mackinac.

“It’s been an interesting challenge,” said Mr. Wulf of Wulf River Construction in Marion, Wisconsin. He willingly bid on the project, but later admitted it was a more interesting undertaking than he expected.

A freighter glides by Round Island Lighthouse, partially shrouded to contain lead paint.

Mr. Wulf’s company specializes in lead paint removal, so that was not a problem here, and they have painted old Victorian homes that were much taller than the Round Island Lighthouse, so they were prepared for its height.

“The weather has been the toughest part of this job,” he said, but added, “We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful place to work.”

Mr. Wulf and his crew of six spent three weeks on the project in September. High winds came in one afternoon forcing them to leave early. A thunderstorm that blew th -rough one night caused their painting shroud to blow off.

Fortunately, they were scheduled to take it down the next day. The shroud was in place to collect the lead paint chips being scraped off the walls, but the chips already had been cleaned up before the storm hit.

Then there was the issue of transporting scaffolding, ladders, paint, and all the other paraphernalia needed for the job from the mainland to a rocky shore with no dock. Using an 18-foot speedboat for the numerous initial trips and for their daily trips, Mr. Wulf and crew anchored the boat about 30-feet off the Round Island shore and would carefully wade in over the slippery rock lake bed that encompasses that part of the island. They also received assistance from Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry, which let them use a storage garage in St. Ignace.

Round Island Lighthouse is a part of the Hiawatha National Forest and, this year, funding for special projects like this one was made available from Congress to highlight the centennial of the U.S. Forest Service.

Situated adjacent to 378 acres of island designated as a wilderness area, Round Island Lighthouse towers over a 1.5- acre rocky peninsula on the island’s northwestern side, offering perfect views of the Mackinac Bridge to its west and Mackinac Island to its north.

A solar panel now powers a light in the old tower, although the beacon has been replaced by a mechanized lighthouse that sits in the channel between Round and Mackinac island.

Round Island is a non-motorized, non-mechanical island. That means no all terrain vehicles, not even bikes, are allowed. Camping is allowed, however, although campers must bring everything they need with them, and take everything, including their trash, when they leave.

The Round Island Lighthouse was first lit May 15, 1896, and built at a cost of $15,000. The estimated cost of this restoration project is $100,000 and includes the removal of the lead paint.

Russ Sutton, U.S. Forest Service East Zone engineer, was in charge of the painting project, and made daily trips to the island to inspect Mr. Wulf’s work as it progressed.

The job began long before Mr. Wulf and his crew arrived on-site, however, said Mr. Sutton.

The paint was tested before a contract was written and bids sought. The Forest Service then researched paints to find a high quality latex base that would best handle the elements. How long the new paint will last is an unknown. The manufacturer estimates about 10 years, but Mr. Wulf is skeptical.

“That is just a whole different scenario out there on Round Island with the way it gets beat up because of the weather,” he said. “That’s a 100-year-old structure. It has mortar that’s deteriorating year after year, and that also plays into the paint’s life.”

Hand scrapping the entire lighthouse was the first step in the contract. The dangers of lead paint would not allow the crew to sandblast the old paint off the building. Also, sandblasting would have taken glaze off the brick, which would compromise the bricks’ resistance to the weather, said Mr. Sutton. The crew wore protective masks, safety glasses, and hard hats, and a shroud was constructed around the building to capture the paint scrapings so they would not contaminate the environment.

With the scraping complete, the crew washed the entire building by hand, removing all loose particles, and new spider webs that were a continuous battle throughout the project.

“It’s a never-ending thing, fighting the cobwebs,” said Mr. Wulf.

Before painting, the crew repaired crumbling mortar by scrapping out the old substance and replacing it with fresh mortar. If they found badly damaged brick, it, too, was replaced.

With prep-work complete, the painting could begin. The lighthouse first received a primer coat. The wood trim was painted black and the wood siding on the upper half of the structure was painted a basic white. The lighthouse brick was painted with a tinted primer before the final coat of red paint, called Cedar Chest, was applied.

“We have a good contractor,” said Mr. Sutton. “That’s 90-percent of the battle on any project, having a good contractor.”

Mr. Sutton inspected the work as it progressed. He said he provides the checks and balances needed on the project. He documented the job’s progress with photographs and daily reports.

Mr. Sutton usually works on forest road projects, dams, and facility maintenance programs, not lighthouses. Though he has found this to be an exciting project, he, too, admitted he would not miss the trip to Round Island on the strong-wind and high-wave days.

Paula Johnston, recreation team leader for the East Zone of the Hiawatha National Forest who also worked on the project, said, “We are just so excited to be getting the lighthouse painted, because it is such a landmark for the Straits.

“When we need help with the lighthouse,” she continued, “there are a lot of people who step up to the plate with their time, talents, and resources, including the Boy Scouts, the Friends of Round Island Lighthouse, and public donations. We all love that lighthouse.”