In the 2nd week of the project, Ron's team started the first steps to repair the solarium .
Since the house is historic, this is one of the features I had to go before the Plainfield Historic Comission to get a "CA" (certificate of appropriateness), where you present to the commission your plans that affect the exterior of your historic building, get their feedback, and then permission to move ahead.
I have found the commission to be very helpful. They are a group of people who are passionate about preserving our wonderful historic buildings in Plainfield, and have a wide range of expertise.
The solarium originally started out as part of the huge wrap-around porch. Somewhere between 1910-1920, the porch was enclosed with beautiful windows.
The first thing Ron's carpenters was lay out a numbering scheme for the solarium. Next they removed all the glass panels from the lower window frames. Over the years, two had been broken, but everything else was intact. Each window was As Ron took the solarium apart, each was numbered. Next they took out the windows. They weren't sure what to expect .. but fortunately they were removable as entire units.
The railings were removed and generally are in good condition. The interior beadboard and framing was removed. The original floor was covered with several layers of plywood and tile. Most was rotted and in poor shape. The roof of the solarium is in great shape. Most of the lower frame is in good shape ... but there are entire sections along the edge which are completely rotted.
Our architect recommended that we build new footings for the solarium. The new footings will be fit behind the original stone footings, so the look will be the same. When the architect finishes the framing drawings, the framers will come in and repair the flooring structure, the rotted columns and column frame supports.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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