Parapet walls are raised barriers at the edge of a roof and are often extensions of the structure’s main wall and act as a barricade. Historically speaking, parapet walls date back thousands of years. Many ancient castles and military forts had defensive parapets constructed on the roof to provide cover for troops defending the structure from attackers. Parapets serve a number of purposes including aesthetics, privacy, safety, and protection from weather elements including high winds/airborne debris.
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CopelandBEC Welcomes Sean Maiden, P.E.
Copeland Building Envelope Consulting is pleased to welcome Sean Maiden, P.E. (IA) to our team of building envelope specialists! Sean joins us as a Senior Consultant with more than 5 years of experience solving building enclosure problems including performing investigations, peer reviews, laboratory and field testing, repair design, and building enclosure commissioning (BECx). Sean is a licensed Professional Engineer in IA.
Sean has made great contributions already, working on a variety of projects including historic masonry and stained glass repairs at Rollins Chapel (Dartmouth College), below-grade waterproofing at The Esplanade Condominiums in Hudson, MA, and roofing and deck repairs at WhiteStone Condominiums in Groveland, MA.
Welcome to CopelandBEC, Sean!

Historic Restoration in Holyoke
Copeland Building Envelope Consulting is working with Dietz & Company Architects on a gut renovation project at the former Essex Apartments in downtown Holyoke, MA. The project will restore this historic property into affordable housing units. Building enclosure repairs include masonry restoration, window replacement, and roofing replacement.
Built in 1888 in the Queen Anne style, the building features brick masonry, sandstone, slate, and terra cotta accents. We are providing complete building envelope repair design services including drawings and specifications.


CopelandBEC Welcomes Peter Holt
Copeland Building Envelope Consulting is excited to welcome Peter Holt to the team as a Senior Project Manager. Pete has been working in the building envelope field for over 25 years and has expertise in various aspects of enclosure consulting including roofing, waterproofing, fenestration, and air/water barriers. Peter is also an experienced project manager and will contribute steady leadership as the firm grows.
Pete has contributed to a variety of projects already, including several investigations from Boston to Springfield. We haven’t gotten around to hiring a photographer yet, so here’s an action shot of Pete inspecting a parapet wall—we promise that’s him, you’ll just have to take our word for it.

Getting Started at Rollins Chapel
CopelandBEC has been engaged to provide building envelope consulting for a planned renovation at historic Rollins Chapel on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. We’re excited to join a talented team including Jones Architecture of Salem, MA and RFS Engineering of Laconia, NH.

Since its dedication in 1885 Rollins Chapel has served as the College’s spiritual center…Work began on the new chapel in June 1884. The building, which President Lord described as “Romanesque in general style with entrances under heavy round arches,” was constructed of pink granite with red sandstone trimming. Its floor plan was in the form of a Greek cross, and it had a seating capacity of about 600. The architect was John L. Faxon of Boston.
Dartmouth College website
The planned renovation includes both interior and exterior repairs. We’ll be consulting on the design for repairs to below-grade waterproofing systems, mass masonry exterior walls, and stained glass windows.
CopelandBEC staff have extensive experience on historic restoration projects, including work at the New York State Capitol and Massachusetts State House. More recently CopelandBEC has assisted with building envelope repairs at historic buildings on the campuses of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, MA.
We’re eager to apply our expertise to this beautiful building at Dartmouth College.