Washington D.C.'s Top
Welcome to Mashack iron we specialize in restoring and replicating the ironwork of the historic district of Washington DC including castiron porches,iron fencing,decks,staircases and specialized projects as time and available labor permits. Fred Mashack’s emphasis is on quality which takes a little longer toproduce so we are always busy.
If your job is a simple no historic repair or if is not in my service area i may be able to refer someone who who can do it satisfactorily in a reasonable amount of time. I am always looking for iron workers who are competent that I can recommend
Mashack Iron's first location was 441 4th St NE, a barn in the alley off E St NE. According to a neighbor who said he cleaned out the stable when he young, it was originally owned by an ice delivery person. His horses were on the first floor, and there was a hand drawn elevator that took the carriages and supplies to the second floor. The pulley system was still there when we moved in.
Mashack Iron served the historic district of Capitol Hill through Georgetown, operating out of 1804 Half St SW since about 1985. It was the ideal location, 2.8 miles from home on Capitol Hill, and when I stepped out front, I could see the mast of my sailboat at Buzzard Point Marina. When asked to work, my service area was simple. I didn’t cross any bridges, and now I have to cross a bridge to go to work.
We were forced to move out of the district, like all the other service industries, due to its insatiable desire to increase its tax base by rezoning to build high-rise offices and apartments. It is now located at 4751 Lydell Road, 5.7 miles from home, as close as possible to Capitol Hill.
Mashack Iron has been dedicated to restoring the ironwork of the historic district, along with creative projects, which blend in with the historic district. Originally, it was Fred, Ted and Ed. Our main projects were installing security gates and window guards, which had to be installed the same day as settlement. We were an integral part of the settlement process. Without gates and guards, they wouldn’t go to settlement. From there, we have progressed from installing security gates and window guards, to historically correct handrails and fences, and repairing cast iron porches. Right now, the majority of work is restoring cast iron porches, since they are all about 130 years old and have had poor to no repairs. We take ironwork less than 100 years old to the scrapyard. Most of the fences in the historic districts have been installed and the gates and window guards are being removed.
I do not solicit business, customers find me through reputable recommendations.
At Mashack Frederick Iron Works, we create beautiful, historically accurate iron fences, furniture and decor. We provide custom ironworking and fabrication services to people all over the DMV area. Do you have an idea that you'd like to see brought alive in your home, yard or business? Centuries old iron in need of restoration?
Contact us today to ask about our ironworking services today.
Before 1871 Washington had mud streets and no infrastructure in 1871 Congress formed a territorial form of government for dc appointing Alexander Shepard as head of the board of public works he immediately commenced massive improvement projects “ to make the city worthy of the nation” he installed the sewer system gas lines curbs and streets the city was laid out as building lots by 1875 developers were able to buy a single lot or a row of lots this started the development boom that lasted into the early 1900s the industrial areas were along the river and the rail lines which gave access to,transporting materials the white foundry was at 460 Maine avenue and the Howard dent foundry was at 33 rd and water street in Georgetown.the white foundry was in place in 1840 so was strategically in place for the building boom of the 1880s I am sure there were other local foundries but I have not been able to find records of them a few castiron porches came from Springfield architectural iron I Springfield Ohio but not very many. Barber and Ross and Stewart iron provided were responsible for fabricating some of the yard fences and gates.
The parts for the cast iron porches were cast at the foundry from wood patterns so they all came out the same. contractors could choose from several post patterns, pipe collar patterns risers and stringer patterns. The porches were installed onsite from the chosen parts. The porches were built from cast and wrought iron forged parts the cast parts
The basic building materials available at the end of the 19th century were:
Lumber the wood in our homes came from old growth 100 year old trees these were large trees with close grain because they grew slowly,because of this the lumber cut out could be long and straight and had good grain structure. It was also more resistant to decay where as most lumber now is fast grow having more water than quality fiber. it warps out of shape even before you get it home
Bricks were made from local clay and the process was simpler. it is a lot softer than modern brick. some of the original kilns are still visible from New York avenue on the property of the arboretum.
Mortar was not available. a lime mixture based on calcium compounds was used it was a soft material, it was ideal used with the soft bricks of the time. Because of this when you have old brickwork worked on they should not use modern hard mortar but a historically correct mixture which is softer
Modern mortar has only been in use about 100 years. It was formed by adding silica compounds which tend to be harder along with the calcium compounds.
Iron ore that is mined does not have the properties to make it a good building material it is refined to make other ferrous materials
Castiron was the simplest refined product from iron ore.the basic difference from the basic iron ore is that the carbon content was reduced which gave it better structural qualities.Wood patterns are created by skilled pattern makers the foundry then pores melted castiron into impressions in sand molds from the imprints of these patterns. All the pieces come out the same as the original pattern minus a small shrinkage which occurs when the molten metal cools .foundries still use the same process of wood patterns and sand molds as they did for hundreds of years. Intricate designs can be reproduced in quantity . The main drawback with cast iron is that it has good compressive strength by no tensile strength, it will break before it will bend.
Wrought iron was the basic material used in conjunction with castiron where bending strength was required. The basic iron had most of the carbon, which gives iron its brittleness removed, but the other impurities as silica were left in the product. it now could be formed by hammering to elongate it or “wrought” the hammering into shapes also elongated the silica strands these impurities now helped to make the wroughtiron less susceptible to rust when the iron starts to rust further rust is stopped by the silica fibers. unlike cast iron or steel the hammering creates a grain in the material when you break a piece of wroughtirion it will not be a clean break but you will see jagged edges much as the grain in wood. The wrought iron was used in conjunction with cast iron to make structurally sound units that also had beautiful ornamental qualities. the structural strap joined to the cast stringers become the backbone of castiron porch the handrail pipes were also wrought instead of cast
Steel was not economically produced until the end of the 19th century. It is a purer material with precise amounts of carbon and other materials to give it desired qualities of hardness for tool material or other qualities for general structural use.
One drawback is that because of its purity it is a lot more susceptible to rust. Because if it’s cheapness and it’s ease to work with it supplanted wrought iron which now is no longer made and reduced a lot of the castiron used. The structures built from steel do not have the ornamental qualities of castiron.
You determine what you are looking to add to your home or business and reach out to us at Mashack Frederick Iron Works
You approach us with your idea and tell us what you're looking to build, then we'll take it back to our workshop and begin planning and designing it.
We follow your requests and our designs to a tee. We stick to our plans to ensure that you get the piece you want looking exactly as you want it.
Each piece of metal we work with undergoes meticulous examination and quality checks both before and after we work with them to guarantee you'll love your new custom metal installation.
Mashack is the last of his kind, a link to the once thriving iron industry in the region. In his decades of caring for the ornamental metalwork gracing so many old homes and businesses, he has seen everything, done everything. No one has his expertise.
We bought a house on Capitol Hill with great cast iron stairs but someone had removed the original railings and replaced them with cheap, ugly ones. Mashack installed historically accurate replicas for almost exactly half of what another ironworks wanted to charge.
I saw him on an old episode of This Old House and knew he was our guy. I'm so glad we continued our search. He completely restored the stairs, railing, porch, and recast the treads from molds he had. They are truly beautiful. It is difficult to find true craftsman and honest businessmen like Fred.
Mashack Frederick Iron Works, we are expert iron workers and fabricators. No one in the DMV has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why!
Specializing in historic iron renovations, we can take your old beaten rails, fences and more and restore or replace them with nearly perfect accuracy. With Mashack, you get expert fabrication and installation. Our team is composed of experienced experts who can complete almost any project with absolutely stunning results! With Mashack, you can expect quality work, affordable prices, and excellent customer service.
When you give us a call, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait - call now!
Metal requires an oil base paint so it limits your options. Several years ago, the EPA tried to phase out oilbase paint. It even limited its sale to quart cans. Latex paint is water based, as well as latex caulk, and they are not compatible with iron . The epa later relented and gallon cans of oil base are readily available.
I started out using duron, they had a semigloss which I liked but they changed the formula and when I thought I had things figured out things they would change it again.Duron was also bought out by Sherrington Williams
I started using rustoleum they were consistent and according to the advertising it was based on fish oil the Duran people told me it was not compatible with their paints so if you use a rust oleum primer you should use a rustoleum topcoat
I also talked to the Duron engineer I told him I thought they went with a gloss finish because it would last longer because it reflected the uv light he said that sounded like a good explanation as any. Rustoleum has 2 finishes gloss and flat you definitely do not want a flat finish. The gloss will become a semigloss after several years that does not mean you need a fresh coat of paint.
When I rebuild a castiron porch people dont comment on the two weeks of repairs I do but they comment on the paint job.now that many coats of cakey paint has been removed and you can see the original detail.
If they paint their porch every 5 years or so especially with a brush,in about 25 years you won’t be able to see the detail anymore. Also if one of the coats does not adhere properly all the coats on top of that coat will have a problem
With all the coats of paint that were put on the topside of the porches some were never painted on the underside. because of that the initial rust would hold moisture which would accelerate the rusting process, the original metal would be converted into sheets of rust soon the metal was so thin that on the topside you might have the original detail but the step would not be structurally sound and not worth saving
Don’t paint just because you want a new finish or to touch up the scraped spots and let them blend in with age. When you have your existing ironwork repainted do not use a redoxide primer over your existing paint unless you are taking it completely down to bare metal. For some reason I have seen when the metal is primed the redoxide creates a durable finish but the black topcoat does not adhere properly
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