New England winters are the perfect time of year for many things: skiing or snowboarding, maple syruping, snowshoeing, and sitting inside by a fireplace perplexed by a “roof leak” when the roof is clear and it hasn’t rained or snowed in days.
Read moreCategory: Projects
Hyde Park Parapet Repairs
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.
Read moreHistoric 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.


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.
Building Envelope Repairs at James Landing Condominiums
James Landing Condominiums in Scituate, MA is a waterfront property with 50 units spread across 5 architect-designed buildings. The setting is pristine, overlooking the North River as it winds towards the Atlantic, but exposes the buildings to punishing weather. Over the years nature had taken its toll and over the course of 2020-2021 the association embarked on a large-scale project to repair the aging building envelope systems.
Read more