Costs rising as library repairs continue

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Saving the library

At the top of the southwest corner of the Sedalia Public Library, the decorative terra cotta has been removed by workers from D. H. Restoration of Grandview, Mo., revealing brickwork that restoration worker Christian Ferm said is "basically sitting on dust". The area, he said, contained a lot of "trash brick, broken bricks, and odds and ends." A capstone in the middle of the window, right, bows slightly from downward pressure. "The daily shifting of the building is unbelievable," Ferm said.

SYDNEY BRINK/DEMOCRAT

Saving the library

Christian Ferm positions his boom lift to remove more blocks of terra cotta. The steel bracing next to the lift helps stabilize the southwest corner of the library.

SYDNEY BRINK/DEMOCRAT

Saving the library

Tim Kasinger takes a small hammer and metal bristle brush to each terra cotta block to remove the grout and filler material before labeling it and placing it on a pallet which will be shrink-wrapped before the men leave the work site.