George Avgeros, co-owner of First Class Contracting of Richmond, said he is excited about the project his company was awarded to restore New Point Comfort Lighthouse.

“In our lifetime, this is the last lighthouse that needs restoring,” he said. “I don’t think this job exists anywhere else. They move them, they paint them, but they don’t do all this.”

By “all this,” Avgeros means restoration of the exterior sandstone that makes up the structure, removal of the cupola and replacement of all metal parts, replacement of the door and all the windows, and repairs to the gallery catwalk and lantern room. There will also be foundation repairs, the installation of solar panels and associated electrical work, remediation of asbestos and lead, waterproofing of the whole structure, and finally, installing signage so visitors know the story of the 200-year-old lighthouse.

“This is American history,” said Avgeros. “We’re the youngest country. We’ve learned from everybody else’s mistakes, from every other civilization. It’s fascinating.”

Walking around the lighthouse island last Friday morning, Avgeros pointed out that President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the building of the lighthouse. It was completed in 1804, during the third year of his presidency.
“It’s the third-oldest surviving lighthouse in the bay, and the 10th oldest in the United States,” he said.

But time and weather take a toll, and Avgeros showed where the sandstone on the southeast side of the lighthouse has become deeply pitted. He said those areas have been so badly damaged by waves crashing against the island’s surrounding wall of riprap during storms that the damaged blocks will have to be ground down and levelled to create an even surface so that four-inch sandstone blocks can be installed. The sandstone will come from Vermont, he said, because a quarry there has the closest match to the original sandstone, which came from the same Northern Virginia quarry that furnished sandstone for the White House and other federal buildings in Washington, D.C.

“Brick, concrete, nothing else would stand that strong,” said Avgeros of the sandstone. “It’s been damaged, but think about how much time it took. This is the best you can use, so you protect it, repair it, and restore it when you need to.”

Avgeros said that the structure’s windows will be replaced with brand-new fiberglass windows that will be better able to handle the elements and more difficult to damage by the occasional vandal that visits the lighthouse only to try to destroy it. The last time it was vandalized, said Gary Bunch, marine coordinator for the project, the heavy metal grate covering an equally heavy metal door were both broken into, and the door was removed. Then the vandals kicked out all of the windows.

A request for a design change suggested by Bunch, who is a Mathews resident and owner of Marine Contracting, is now under consideration by architects, engineers and VDOT, said Avgeros. The suggested change involves installation of a “Bilco door” such as the ones installed to provide outside access to basements.

Bunch explained that the material from nests that ospreys build on top of the lighthouse often falls into a drain in front of the door of the lighthouse and causes flooding inside the structure, which can undermine it further. The drain was installed when the small patch of land around the lighthouse was built up and riprap installed to keep the tiny island, which was once nearly three acres, from being completely eroded away.

Once a decision is made on the design change, said Avgeros, work can begin.

Avgeros said his company has worked on a number of historic structures across Virginia, including the Lyceum Museum in Arlington, Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach, and Washington Hall at the College of William and Mary. He said a number of the structures, including Washington Hall, have been associated with Thomas Jefferson, to the point that he and his brother and company co-owner, Tim, consider Jefferson “our guy.”

“I’ve made a living following Jefferson’s life,” he said. “When we found out he commissioned the lighthouse, we said, ‘we’ve gotta get this. He’s our guy.’”

Although he didn’t think much about history growing up, Avgeros said that it has come to mean a lot more to him as an adult.

“We don’t need a lighthouse now,” he said. “But think about how many people it kept from drowning, how many sailors used it. It’s not the building. It’s the memories. We’re fortunate to be in Virginia, where we have a lot of history.”

Avgeros said he’s also excited to be back in Mathews, where his company did a school roofing project a number of years ago.

“This is a beautiful place,” he said. “We’ve been all over, and we’re blessed to have found it. There are great people here.”

Avgeros said he’s hoping to hire local people to do the work on the lighthouse. If he finds qualified people, he said, the company will take them along when the project is completed.

Finding Bunch to work on the project “was God’s will,” said Avgeros.

“We came together, and the thought process was there,” he said. “The team you’re with makes a difference.”

First Class Contracting has established an office in downtown Mathews. To see about a job interview, call corporate headquarters at 804-322-2010.