Haley Ward uses Laser scanning in preparation of the Masonic Hall rehabilitation

Helping preserve history with BIM technology

In the small town of Wayne, Maine, on the banks of Mill Pond, stands an old Masonic Hall. Built in 1867, the hall is the last remaining piece of Wayne’s industrial history. Purchased by the nonprofit Sustain Wayne in 2016, the group is now working with Maine Preservation to transform the building into a vibrant community center. Plans include lifting the hall out of the floodplain, rehabilitating the entire interior, and adding features like a commercial kitchen and an elevator. Once complete, it will serve as a hub for community events, an indoor farmers market, office space, and more, helping to boost both economic development and quality of life in a town of just over 1,100 residents.

On a beautiful, sunny September day, Haley Ward’s Building Information Modeling (BIM) team joined the effort by laser scanning the building to create the detailed data needed for restoration and rehabilitation. We placed a series of white spheres throughout the site, which serve as reference markers so that scans from multiple positions can be stitched together with precision. Over the course of the day, we completed roughly sixteen different scans, each no more than ten feet apart to create enough overlap. That meant doing what we like to call the “scan dance”, hopping out of the scanner’s view so we didn’t end up as part of the point cloud! Once all the scans are combined, they form a complete digital replica of the structure that preserves its geometry and historic details.

This final dataset will be critical for Sustain Wayne and Maine Preservation as they move forward with renovations that will preserve the historic features of the building. Having accurate, comprehensive documents will help them plan every stage of this large rehabilitation and communicate their needs clearly to donors, engineers, architects, and contractors.

Laser scanning is truly a game-changer for projects like this. It provides pinpoint accuracy, capturing historic details within millimeters, and allows us to scan large areas quickly, even in hard-to-reach spaces like attics or crawl spaces. The data integrates seamlessly into BIM, enabling precise 3D models, supporting restoration planning, and even making it possible to reproduce elements with 3D printing. By reducing errors, saving time, and generating reliable floor plans, laser scanning helps historic buildings like the Wayne Masonic Hall to be preserved with fidelity, while preparing them for a new chapter of community use.