Whole House Restoration 2502 E Grace St.

We've recently taken on a big project in a whole house restoration at 2502 E Grace St. This attached house was built in 1879. It has been severely neglected for the better part of two decades. The group that took this project on is concerned with not only providing clean, modern living space, but preserving as much of the historical character of the building as possible. It is a historic tax credit project, which is something that we specialize in.

After a month of selective demolition, we were finally able to get to work on framing the house. We finish the family room floor and have moved to framing the ceiling of the first floor/floor the second floor.

We're using the original girders that rest in pockets in the brick wall.

The joists were not salvageable, so we have to put new ones in.

Master framer stylings

The masterful framing stylings of Chris, Mike and Nick. This is the building of the elevator shaft on Monument Avenue. 

Modifying the rafters to notch around the shed roof bracket.

First pieces go in!

Rebuilding door frames in the basement of an 1815 home

Faked out beam using antique pine

Quite difficult to glue up warped antique pine, but the goal is to hide a steel lintel in an 1815 home. Once installed, no one will know this isn't a solid 3" by 16" hunk of tree, just like the old lintels in the rest of the house.

Door restoration

Hard to believe, but these are the same doors, carefully restored by our craftspeople. New molding (lighter in color) courtesy of Van Jester Woodworks.

Victory! Outer doors are finally in on Grace St

Monumental Church

 Thomas and I got the distinct pleasure of visiting Monumental Church yesterday morning, where they have a little bad windowsill problem. Monumental Church is available for weddings, for those of you ready to tie the knot. It's a very elegant spot.

Replacing rotten built in gutter

Restoring a built in gutter in the Fan. The new roof will be TPO, a rubber membrane, instead of metal. This saves the client money and has roughly the same life expectancy, about 30 years.

African mahogany doors

Beautiful African mahogany doors.

Porch restoration

A brand new roof for an old porch, built by Chris Koenig, master framer.

Hilary Baker house

Our new project: the Hilary Baker house on Grace St. We're very excited about what we're finding!