Norristown panel recommends stone repairs and roofline repainting for 208 Decal Street

The Norristown Historic Architectural Review Board on its May meeting recommended that municipal council issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for work at 208 Decal Street that would repair and resecure the stone veneer at the storefront and repaint the roofline wood trim.

The board approved a motion directing that existing stone panels at the storefront base be repaired and reinstalled, anchored to the existing brick backup wall and grouted using stainless‑steel anchors; any replacement stone must match the existing natural stone in gray tone and dimensions. Members also required that the two wood trims on the Kelp Street facade (cornice and dormers) be scraped and repainted to match the existing white finish.

Board members discussed the condition of the stone panels and the failure of iron ties that had allowed some panels to shift. Members urged use of stainless anchors to prevent future corrosion and noted the practical difficulty of sourcing a close match to the building’s historic stone. One board member described the regional occurrence of the historic ‘‘Valley Forge/King of Prussia’’ stone and suggested salvage or local quarry searches as potential sources if new material is cost‑prohibitive.

The applicant said the project would be put out to bid and that masons would submit sample materials; the board asked that proposed replacement samples be returned for final approval before installation if an exact match could not be located.

The board’s recommendation passed on a roll call vote in which Gail, George, Lynn and Olivia voted yes. The applicant was told the paperwork is scheduled to be available for the June 16 municipal council meeting.