County replacing historic window at courthouse

An eye-catching feature in the Jasper County Courthouse, the large east-facing arched window not only lets in plenty of light but brings a strong architectural element to the historic building. The Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved the replacement the window Tuesday with a new, efficient duplicate.

“A few years ago we did all of the windows and doors at the courthouse. We looked at doing this window and I think with the cost of it at the time, a little more than $50,000, I guess we opted out,” Jasper County Buildings and Grounds Director Adam Sparks said. “Since then things have obviously not gotten better. The window is still leaking. We have tried to seal it up from the outside, re-glaze the outside, but it keeps wearing down.”

Three bids were solicited from Des Moines-based window companies. While reviewing the window, the county decided to work with Shive-Hattery engineering to do a complete drawing of the window at the request of the interested parties.

“We had a company that did not want to bid because they thought there was things they couldn’t see and didn’t know how to bid it,” Sparks said. “We got Shive-Hattery involved for a total cost of about $3,000 to come up with a total drawing and the EFCO window guys came down to help them.”

Two Rivers Glass and Door, Inc. of West Des Moines submitted the low bid of $33,382 and was selected to complete the work. The job includes the removal of the wooden window and salvaging the arch top on the window. Also, all interior trim will be salvaged to re-installation with a new aluminum window.

New windows from EFCO Corp., a window company headquartered in Des Moines, will be installed with covers, panning and trim in a bone white finish, matching the windows and doors previously replaced. The glass will be insulated units and fully tempered with a SN68 low-e coating and caulked for weather proofing on the exterior. The salvaged wood trim will be re-installed at the jamb, head and conditions as required.

A five-year warranty from EFCO will be applied to materials and a 10-year warranty is available on the glass as well as the finish.

“This window is to the “T” the exact window that is there now,” Sparks said. “With everything they have to do to get that large of a window today, everything that is involved in the window with the number of panes, the edge work, the arch, everything will be almost identical to now.”

Supervisor Doug Cupples asked if Sparks had confidence in Two Rivers Glass and Door to complete the project. Sparks said the company has around since 1992 and has been involved in multiple major projects in Des Moines.

“I don’t doubt that this window needs replaced. We are having a lot of problems on the inside,” Supervisor Joe Brock said.

Sparks said the window will take eight to 10 weeks to arrive after it is ordered. Exterior left equipment will be required to access the window and during the removal and installation of the window the area will be closed off for safety.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com