Plaster restoration

All exterior plaster on the house was removed, and the adobe bricks and mortar were cleaned.

Students analyzed the original plaster and determined that it was 83% aggregate, 15% lime, and 2% clay, so the specifications required that replacement plaster should have the same components. The intent was to match the historic exterior plaster as closely as possible using new ingredients.

Using layers of poultry netting for reinforcement in some areas, three coats of plaster were applied using techniques and tools in keeping with the original construction methods.

Before the last coat dried, joints were inscribed to give the plaster the look of dressed stone.

Roof restoration

The roof of the Magoffin House was also carefully restored during this period.

Typical of construction in the region, the original roof structure was composed of large beams (vigas), with smaller laths or sticks running crosswise between the spaces (latillas).

The ceiling was topped with more plaster, roofing, and an earth fill. Because in some places the vigas were no longer structurally sound, George specified that they be replaced with new materials but that the new vigas be clearly marked with the date of their installation on the side closest to the roof. In some rooms, George and his students devised a steel suspension structure to hold the historic beams in place.

A new roofing structure was added over the original viga-latilla structure to give it additional protection from the elements.

When George directed the historic preservation of the house in the late 1970s, Octavia Glasgow, the granddaughter of the Magoffins who built the house, was still living there. Throughout the restoration, George corresponded with Glasgow and her niece, Josephine Lucker, about Glasgow’s needs and preferences for her domestic space. Glasgow continued to live in the house until her death in 1986.