To George Washington from Going Lanphier, 16 October 1773
From Going Lanphier
New Church1 Octor 16: 1773
Sir
I am apprehensive that in the Bill of Scantling that I sent you it was orderd so as to have the Sleepers of Both the additions to Ly Length ways with the house if so the will not be Right by that means the floor will be aCross and the Getting plank the Length of the addition will not answer the Intended purpose of haveing no heading Joints in the Lower floors, the S[l]eepers Need not be More then 16 feet long to Join on a Summer in the Middle that must be Layd Length ways of House, the Sleepers Must be the same Breadth & thickness as them Mentiond in the Bill & the Two Summers 10 by 14 and 22 feet Long.2 I am Sir Yr Most Humle Servt
Going Lanphier
N.B. I preposd from the begining to Lay the flooring & seeling Jousts Length way of the House it will be a Great Means to Strengthen the additions. G.L.
ALS, DLC:GW. Lanphier wrote on the cover of the letter: “By favor of Mr Willm Copon” (Copein).
Going Lanphier (1727–1813) of Alexandria did the interior carpentry work in 1758 when GW enlarged the house at Mount Vernon. GW now had hired him to extend both ends of the house, adding a library with a bedroom above on the south end and a two-story banquet room at the other. Lanphier “came to W[or]k” on the addition on 25 April 1774 (, 3:246). The library-bedroom addition was not completed until after GW left for Boston in 1775, and it was another ten years before he had his “New Room” at the north end of the mansion.
1. The “New Church” was the new Pohick Church which was in the final stages of completion.
2. In the Washington Papers at the Library of Congress is an order for materials that Lanphier sent, at some point, to GW:
Bill of Materials for the Additions to the Mansion House
To Wit
| 4370 | feet of Inh & half plank for Weather Boarding |
| 880 | Do of Inh & Quarter Do for Dowall floor: Each plank to be 22 feet Long full |
| 1760 | Do of Do Do for the South End having two floors |
| 500 | Do of two Inh Do for Doors &c. |
| 500 | Do of Inh & half Do for Windows |
| — | Do of Inh Do already provided |
12 M Cypress Shingles
9 pr of Dovetail Mortise hinges midling sized & 3 pr Do Larger
9 Common brass Cased Locks 3 Do Dbl. spring’d best Locks
6 M 6d. brads 6 M 4d. Do 3 M 3d. Do 3 M 2d. Do
8 M Clasp nails Instead of brads for flooring 20 lbs. Gleu
40 M 4d. nails for plaistering of Lathd Lead, & Lines, for Windows
Crown Glass for 20 windows of the same size as the windows they are to Range
400 Wt of White Lead for Inside and Out 30 lb. Read Lead
2 lb. Lamb black 10 lb. Yellow Oaker 10 lb. umber a Cask of Whiteing 20 galls. Brittish Linseed oyl for the Inside. the outside may be done with Country Oyl, the above White Lead to be ground in Oyl,
Bill of Scantling
Brought Over for South End
| 32 | Sleepers | 22 feet | Long | 10 Inhs by | 4 | Do |
| 8 | braces | 10 | Do | 8 | 6 | |
| 2 | Posts | 39 | Do | 8 | 6 | |
| 68 | Studs | 12 | Do | 6 | 4 | |
| 68 | Do | 10 | Do | 6 | 4 | |
| 16 | Joists | 22 | Do | 10 | 4 | |
| 16 | Do | 28 1/2 | Do | 8 | 4 | |
| 4 | plates | 32 | Do | 8 | 6 | |
| 25 | Studs | 12 | Do | 4 | 3 | |
| 25 | Do | 10 | Do | 4 | 3 | |
| 28 | Rafters agreable to the Length of Mansion house Rafters | 5 | Inhs by 4 Do | |||
| 2 | Hip Rafters agreable to Do Do | 9 | 5 | |||
| 1000 | feet Laths for Shingles | 3 | Inhs broad & 1 Inhs thick | |||
The Quantity of Laths for plaistering must be g⟨mutilated⟩ed by the quantity of plaistering to be done.
If the shingles are to be laid on plank it will take Dble the Quantity of Laths of ⟨Inh⟩ plank as it does of Laths, and the weight will be abundantly greater on the Roof.