Capitol Dome Restoration Begins

A job is underway in downtown Austin that looks like a circus act. However, instead of being under the Big Top, it is going on outside of the state house dome.

It’s a show you can catch six days a week. Wednesday morning it caught the attention of 10-year-old Breanna Ford and her brother Ryan.

"It’s too high,” said the 10 year old while her bother quickly offered, “I'd like to be up there."

Like an army of ants, a 75 person crew navigates a maze of boards and metal poles that wraps around the state capitol dome. Rhett Johnson, who supervises the work, says the metal frame can sway like a boat.

“As you are walking along you'll feel it move up and down move side to side, and that’s' something with time you'll get use to,” said Johnson.

While it takes a sure foot and strong stomach to do this job, the reward is an amazing view.

"I’m just awestruck at just having this opportunity to be a part of this project,” said Johnson.

The team will lose the view around December when things wrap up. However, the work by a Round Rock painting subcontractor is expected to last 25 years. The paint being used on the dome is called Sunset Red. Back in the early 1900's the dome crews used a white paint. That did not go over very well.

The dome is actually made of sheet metal. The columns are made of cast iron. Even the tightest spots must be reached, washed, and stripped down. There are 176 windows to seal. The paint should blend in with the marble stone of the main building.

There is also a lot of scaffolding you cannot see. It is inside the House Chamber where they are doing repainting and patch up work. An elevated temporary floor is in place so lead paint can be removed from the ceiling. Small tear drop decorations, called pendants, were last painted 10 years ago. There are 204, along with 14 upside down domes that are air vents.

"Getting to come back and work on it again is like coming home again, so there is a great deal of pride,” said Project manager, David Stauch.

Stauch was part of the capitol renovation team in 1994.

"This is not a high tech project. The mechanization involved in this work, involves the lift behind me, and not much else, it’s a lot of hand work,” said Stauch.

Elbow grease, steely nerves, and a bunch of paint. Stauch believes that should be enough to cover 88,000 square feet of the capitol dome. The project is estimated to cost $3.5 million.