Historic Restoration of Antique Homes Minneapolis MN
Historic Reconstruction of Antique Farm Home
We call this the Walker Hill House for its new location., The main part of the house was salvaged in Eastern Connecticut and was originally built ca 1790; the little house or kitchen ell was salvaged in Northeastern Massachusetts (ca 1740); and the barn, from the Hoosick Valley of New York (ca 1840). These dates follow the typical progression of building up of a complete set of buildings for a colonial farmer and are finished inside with historically correct and dated materials. These additional antique materials were purchased from various architectural salvage dealers in New England. Boards originally used as wall partitions with beautiful antique patina were used for the same purpose. Behind its true antique detail are all the particulars of a modern home.
Jonathan Hunt House Restoration
This is the Lt. Gov. Jonathan Hunt House in Vernon, Vermont. I was commissioned to provide historic architectural services including the working plans for the restoration of this antique home. The challenge of this project was in carefully reading the building-as-found, in order to find the evidence of previous features that were lost or hidden by later modifications. Next is assessing its period detail; measuring & drafting Existing Condition documents; and then drafting the working plans for restoration. The rear half of the main floor had unfortunately been stripped but sufficient evidence was discovered to establish the location of the missing original interior wall partitions & the original back stair. The three original fireplaces on the main floor were found to have been changed, with smaller fireboxes built within the originals, thankfully without damage to the original fireboxes. The later brickwork was removed, uncovering rear-wall beehive ovens in two of them. The original panel work in the front four rooms only required delicate refinishing to restore them.
Restoration woodwork in a 17th Century Home
I researched and created this fine historic woodwork early on in my career as a restoration architect. This home was built in 1690 and retained most of its original woodwork. Strangely, the main front stair had been replaced with a most unfortunate one of a common 20th Century carpenter style.
The Boynton House Restoration
This first image shows the house at a very early stage of our work. We had just begun to remove some of the board sheathing to expose the damaged structure. One can see the roof has some sagging. Its condition proved to be much worse than it looked. The twin fireplace chimneys were entirely rebuilt, using the original bricks, from the first floor fireboxes on up. We replaced damaged lath and plaster inside, preserving the original hand-split lath, and recreated the original clapboard exterior, and front doorway surround, as well as doing paint restoration.
This antique house predates the founding of the Governor's Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts as does the historic Dummer House nearby it. Both houses are part of the present Academy. The 12 over 12 light sash and the hand split lath indicate an 18th Century origin. The presence of two interior chimneys and a center hall and stair indicate a Georgian style plan. So I would classify this house in the style of Country Georgian. This house was being used as a girl's dormitory when in 1982 it was realized that it had serious structural issues. The school resolved to completely restore the historic building and to include a large modern bathroom for the girls use. This new dormitory type bathroom required a full waterproof rubber pan lining to protect the original plaster and woodwork below it from any future water damage. We succeeded in insuring this protection. Other than this modern bathroom, the house is now in original restored condition. We made extensive repairs to the original timber frame as these photos show, restoring the integrity of the front wall and the roof. This first image shows the house at a very early stage of our work. We had just begun to remove some of the board sheathing to expose the damaged structure. One can see the roof has some sagging. Its condition proved to be much worse than it looked. The twin fireplace chimneys were entirely rebuilt, using the original bricks, from the first floor fireboxes on up. We replaced damaged lath and plaster inside, preserving the original hand-split lath, and recreated the original clapboard exterior, and front doorway surround, as well as doing paint restoration.
Shute Home Restoration, Newburyport, Ma.
This small, Gambrel roofed, center chimney Colonial home is located near the harbor in the historic port of Newburport. It had suffered from neglect and unfortunate modifications in the 250 years between its construction and restoration. The owner wanted, and got, an historically accurate restoration complete with antique hardware and hand planed woodwork. I was commissioned by the restoration contractor to provide complete historic architectural service. The original main house consists of one room on either side of the center chimney on each of its three floor levels. The garret had been only roughly finished, but the other four rooms each had a fireplace and originally, had paneled interior walls. The original kitchen wing had been added very early on. The plans called for new cabinetry in a simple style appropriate to the original house. The original front stair was completely rebuilt and modern bathrooms were tucked in behind the chimney. Original style 9 over 6 light sash were replicated and installed throughout. All this detail was included in the working plans for restoration.
