Highlighted Projects
LOPCO Contracting has had the distinct pleasure of working on a wide variety of VERY special projects over the years. Included among these prominent projects are some of the most recognizable properties, businesses, and landmarks throughout Southern New England. Also included among these projects are many private residences and commercial settings where the owners desired working with a company that could not only handle their projects, but would also guarantee their work in a manner beyond that of all others within our industry (i.e. – our 5-year warranty & accompanying service plan).
Each of these projects were quite the honor to work on. The parties involved trusted our company to do a great job and we did just that. Our ability to be depended upon for such notable and challenging projects should speak volumes to our level of competency and reliability.
The following is a sampling of some of these such projects that we have recently completed:
Breakers Mansion Children’s Playhouse – Newport, RI
The Breaker’s Mansion in Newport, a prestigious National Historic Landmark, houses the Children’s Playhouse on its property. We were honored to be part of this tremendous project. When we were contacted, the cottage was covered with mold, dust, and dirt and the paint was badly peeling off. We had to strip off layers of old paint in order to bring the brick chimney back to bare masonry. We gave the building a complete exterior makeover (even re-staining its wooden shingle roof!!) and it regained its visual appeal. The 1877 detached cottage was brought back to its original glory! We’ve added a video to show you a little more about our process for this project.
Breakers Stables – Newport, RI
Located approximately a half-mile west of the main Breakers Mansion, on Coggeshall Avenue, are the Breakers Stables. The Stables consist of 26 tie stalls and 2 box stalls with a wooden ceiling above the stalls measuring 25feet x 150 feet (quite a large ceiling!). In 1970 the second floor (above this wooden ceiling) was destroyed by a fire. When we assessed the project we noticed there was a large variety of fire and water damage on the wooden ceiling areas.
Our team was up for the challenge and we prepped the surface by carefully covering all the floors and stalls in this massive space, repairing all damaged wood, sealing the wood with an alcohol-based shellac primer, priming the included areas with a high quality latex primer, and putting a proper finish coat on all of the included ceiling areas. The results were a monumentally dramatic difference which the Stables are going to be able to enjoy for years to come!
Broadway Historic Home – Providence, RI
If you have ever had the opportunity to make your way down Broadway in Providence, RI, one thing that may have stood out to you is the large number of massive, historic, homes in this section of the city. The history in this area runs deep as the homes have ranged in everything from mill owner homes to dress shops back in the day, to modern residences and professional office settings today.
We recently had the treat of being hired to restore a good part of the exterior of one of these magnificent structures! The work required was pretty intense. The condition of the paint coatings demanded a HUGE amount of surface preparation.
The carpentry that was involved needed us to mill on-site (just like they used to do at the time the home was built!) much of the lumber necessary to replace rotted areas – not an easy task! After things were properly prepped and repaired, we were able to finish coat this beautiful 1889 masterpiece and provide it with a gorgeous protective coating that is sure to help keep it preserved well into the foreseeable future!!
Caretaker’s Home at the Historic Elm Grove Cemetery –Mystic, CT
The Historic Elm Grove Cemetery overlooking the Mystic River in Mystic, CT is a beautiful waterfront property, established in 1853, which we had the distinct privilege of working on. In nineteenth century America, the Cemetery, believe it or not, was a favorite spot for a Sunday afternoon outing among local residents. Many leisure time hours were spent strolling among the trees and sepulchers. With the view and environment that this Cemetery is set in, this really does make a lot of sense!
At the caretaker’s home, we had a tremendous amount of work that we were hired to undertake! We replaced portions of their gutter system, repaired a good amount of rotted wood, and provided a fresh facelift on all the previously painted white trim on the home which had definitely begun to show its age in recent years!
City Hall – Providence, RI
Working with older architecture is certainly one of our biggest specialties. When working on historic City Hall in Rhode Island’s Capital City (a building built in 1878), we were meticulous and attentive to detail in every aspect of the work we were hired to do. We worked conscientiously to match existing elaborate color schemes within the Mayor’s Office and the hallway right outside of it. We repaired wall covering and detailed ceiling trim in these areas in an environment that was exceptionally challenging to operate in. We provided new color schemes and new properly painted ceiling, wall, and trim surfaces to the Mayor’s direct staff’s offices, the city’s Financial Department, as well as the Office of Neighborhood Services. This project was particularly special as a good number of our staff working on the project are Providence residents themselves and were proud to be able to say they were part of the transformation and repairs!
Emmanuel Church, Newport, RI
Emmanuel Church is a very special place and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Emmanuel is an Episcopal Church whose roots trace back to the mid-1800s. Its current building began being constructed on June 29, 1901 and its first service was held there on June 3, 1902. We have worked on quite a number of exterior and interior projects for Emmanuel. Our exterior work included prepping and painting of a good majority of the previously painted trim surfaces on the outside of the Church complex. We also refinished many “natural wood” doors around the grounds as well as a wooden porch ceiling (bringing the wood all the way back to bare wood within the process!).
On the interior of the Church, we corrected a fairly large amount of water damage that had previously left large areas of plaster and woodwork in disrepair – including on the inside of a daycare that operates within the Church’s buildings! Through the repair and painting processes, we even installed special, water resistant paneling behind the commercial dishwasher in the Church’s kitchen!!
This was a very interesting, large project which allowed us to exhibit a wide variety of our staff’s talents due to the enormous diversity of repairs needing to be done.
Hope Club – Providence, RI
The Hope Club in Providence, RI is proud of its heritage and reputation as the private, social club where business and professional men and women as well as civic, community, and social leaders have gathered for generations. Located just off of historic Benefit Street, the Hope Club’s original building was built well over 100 years ago and as with any older building, needs to be properly kept up in order to maintain its most proper structural and cosmetic wellness. We have been honored to partner with the Hope Club in recent years to help care for this magnificent urban edifice. We have helped in the remodeling of their exercise room, remodeled their very popular Leeson meeting room, conducted repairs on a historic copper gutter system high above the delightful courtyard area after it was damaged from an ice dam, and most recently we have refinished all of the previously painted higher areas (including the high flying flagpole!) on the front façade of the building and completely restored the main front door and associated side-lite area. There is certainly a lot to look out for in an older building of any type! We are proud to partner with organizations that have situations such as the Hope Club and help preserve their historic integrity!
Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History – Providence, RI
This City owned and operated Museum, built in 1896, was a nice delight to add to our portfolio! We were hired to work on the main exhibition room and hall. We prepped and painted the wall and ceilings of the room in a stunning blue-angled color scheme.
This was a very fun project as employees working on it often had huge smiles on their faces as they reminisced about attending the museum while growing up. They got a huge kick out of the fact that they were now working on restoring a room where they had such fond memories of as a child. If you love natural history, this truly is a special place and one that holds a warm space in our hearts. We are very proud to say that we had a part in helping to keep its history alive and well.
Rudolph Residence – Cranston, RI
Sometimes, in homes built after 1978 (after the elimination of lead paint from the marketplace), there are paint coatings that do some pretty funky things. Because these homes do not have lead paint on them, we are able to utilize a process called glass blasting to strip the home of its coatings structure, liberally open up the pores of the wood beneath the previously existing paint coatings, and allow the new paint system the best chance at long time success. The Rudolph Residence in Cranston, RI falls right into this category. The exterior of this home, built in 1983, was just not able to hold any additional coatings on its surfaces for any substantial length of time. We glassblasted the siding and trim surfaces and then completely washed the exterior. After allowing time for drying, we repaired & replaced all of the rotted wood that became exposed after the glassblasting process. For the red cedar clapboard on the front of the home, we primed it all with a slow-drying, tannin-bleed blocking oil primer, lightly sanded its surfaces after the primer was dry, and applied two coats of a solid stain finish. For the white cedar shingle siding on the rear three sides of the home, we applied one coat of solid stain, lightly sanded all surfaces, and then applied a 2nd coat of stain. For the trim on the home, we made sure it was all appropriately prepped & primed and then after a light sand, we properly applied a premium finish coat system. After this was all done, we took care of all accent work, hung new shutters, and presented the completed project to the Rudolph family for them to enjoy and have extraordinary ‘Peace of Mind’ with regard to its lasting maintenance.
Virgadamo Commercial Building – Warwick, RI
While residential and super unique endeavors are where the bulk of our projects traditionally lay, it is not unusual to have a project come along, in a more common commercial setting, where the owner of the property wants a company to work with that will leave them with a finished product that they will not have to worry about for years afterward. The Virgadamo Commercial Building project, that we undertook not too long ago, falls directly into this category. This building in Warwick, RI housed West Bay Collaborative and Wood Pro at the time of our work and needed a major overall. The paint coatings on its square, block areas had become too thick over the years to have just an ordinary repaint project have any chance of adhering for a long-term basis.
We glassblasted all of these surfaces, washed the entire building, and then, after everything had thoroughly dried, applied a superior, high-end water protectant to all bare block surfaces. After the water protectant, we applied a coat of a quality latex primer and then properly finish coated all of the block surfaces on the building with a super strong latex paint finish within the required color scheme. We also checked & caulked as necessary all of the sealants around the windows and properly prepped & painted the metal doors on the building. The project was monumental, but the results put the protective coating on the exterior of the building in a better place than perhaps it has ever been!
