Belvedere teaching craft of restoration

Bob Yapp, surrounded by students and the tools of his trade, teaches individuals the time-honored craft of restoration, which he has practiced for four decades. He operates the Belvedere School for Hands-On Preservation at the restored mansion where he and his wife, Pat, live, and operate a Bed and Breakfast, at 521 Bird Street, Hannibal. Contributed photo.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Since the summer of 2008, Bob Yapp, in association with Hannibal’s Belvedere School for Hands-On Preservation, has trained more than 3,000 individuals in carpentry skills that are becoming a lost art. From window repairs to passive floor restoration, he focuses on the time-honored means of preserving what is, rather than replacing with newer materials of a lesser grade.

“My take,” he said, “if you want all your finishes in an old house to look new, then build in a cornfield development that has everything new.”

If you want to preserve what already exists, he, along with a series of preservation experts, teach the skills necessary to do just that.

Yapp, who has built his entire career around restoration, said that, “The Antiques Road Show taught us a lot.”

He believes that the worn place on the wood floor where Grandma rocked in her rocker, or the marks left by dragging the piano, are part of an old home’s character.

Passive floor restoration involves using a strip finish, soy gel or alcohol, to remove the finish, rather an using a drum sander. “You don’t want to take away the original patina,” he said.

“I don’t think the community understands what I do here,” he said. “In eight to 14 workshops a year,” he is teaching preservation trades skills that he has learned over the last 40 years.

Of the people who attend his classes, half are homeowners who want to learn; others are contractors. “They have jobs and kids,” Yapp said. “These people feel they can take three to eight days off in order to learn specific skills.”

One skill set that Yapp teaches is traditional lime masonry. This ties in with the history of his own house, the Belvedere Inn, located at 521 Bird St.

The house was originally owned by Alfred Lamb, who kept it until the 1880s. He sold the house to Lyman Munger.

“(The Mungers’) genius was to create the Hannibal Lime Works, and deliver ready-to-use lime mortar” to the worksite.

“The old mortar was lime and sand; it’s good mortar, it has held up 180 years,” Yapp said.

Now he is teaching this old-time construction technique to others.

Of those attending his classes, “We are running in the mid 60 percent range women to men. Women are getting in the trades by droves. Most women are ready to admit they don’t know something.

“This training is really important. Some classes are all women. I love mentoring into the construction trades at any level; it is really wonderful.”

“One of the biggest mistakes,” in this country was when “think tanks said: ‘stop the vocational technical stuff’. That was ignorant, dumb.

“A lot of young people are smart as a whip, but they don’t want to go to college.

"Once trained, preservationists have a career for a lifetime.

“Preservationists never get laid off like in new constructions,” Yapp said. “When the economy gets tough, people stay in their their house. Most (preservationists) are booked out 1 to 2 years in advance. It’s hard to find specialists to do the work. You have a heck of a time finding people in Hannibal. Preservation trades are the highest paid in the field.

“The state of Missouri is now sending their maintenance people from all over the state to classes here,” Yapp said. “There is so much historic property owned by the state, and somebody is making decisions that they will do it well and right.”

Other students include small contractors; historic home owners; architects; engineers. Some of his students are doctors, but it worries him when surgeons want to be around the sharp tools involved in preservation work. “I have all five of my fingers,” he said.  “It’s not that I’m afraid of my equipment, but I’m highly respectful.

“With all of our students, it’s more than just taking the class. People interested in preservation are coming together in one place, sharing stories and pictures. That is added value, it is a good thing.”

Hannibal itself adds a lot of value to the classes as well. “Hannibal has a tourism base, the whole Mark Twain thing. The students love it here.”

Students taking Yapp’s classes won’t find lecturing with Power Point presentations. He shows the students where they will start, and what it will look like when they’re done - the big picture.

“I work the classroom and make sure they are getting it right. This is hands-on preservation.”

“I want to keep (the classes) accessible for people. Everyone gets a certificate of completion when they finish a class. It can help them get a job, or they hang it on their wall at home. They want that certificate; it is a big deal.”

A lot of small contractors send their employees. “One guy from Milwaukee, wanted to learn how to build a historic porch, then stain it. He’s coming back this year to take another class.

“We must have done something right or you wouldn’t be coming back,” Yapp said.

A special treat: “When people come here, my wife Pat serves them wholly home-cooked lunch every day. If they decide to stay here (at Belvedere Inn) she makes them a gourmet breakfast as well.”

Areas of expertise

While Yapp has trades that he specializes in, his school also offers courses taught by other experts in the field.

Stained glass, by Rhonda Deeg from Indiana. “She is a master, who restores Tiffany stained glass. She just finished working at Trinity Episcopal Church in Hannibal, and recently did the windows at the Unitarian Church of Quincy, Ill.”

Bob McCarty is a master faux painter, and teaches how to fake wood grain and marbling.

John Speweik is considered one of the top masons in Europe and the U.S. “He actually wrote all the guidelines for masonry restoration for the National Parks Service,” Yapp said.

“I also co-teach exterior historic house painting, with Duffy Huffman, a third-generation painter; we teach as a team.

“One of my favorite courses is old house maintenance for women. Men aren’t invited. We get all these interesting and interested women.

“We’re getting more people from Missouri,” he said, “a few from Hannibal, but not very many. Next year we will start doing some basic woodworking classes, which may be more of a draw for local folks.”

Hannibal “was the single best decision as adults that Pat and I have made in our 32 years of being married,” he said. “We love Hannibal and it hits all the bells and whistles for us. There are lots of historic properties,” and the town shares traits of both small and medium-size towns.

“Hannibal is very gracious to my students, and they spend a  lot of money downtown. They go away and tell everybody how cool Hannibal is. It’s pretty amazing place.”