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Page 4: A COMPLETE PERIOD VICTORIAN RESTORATION AND RENOVATION
The front porch
The original Victorian front porch had been closed in during a 60's rehab, with aluminum triple-track storm windows and plywood. It did nothing for the house:
(Click on picture thumbnails to see a larger version)
After new clapboard, stripping all the trim, and repainting the house in new colors, the old porch was stripped down and the rotting columns replaced with new pressure-treated posts. At the same time the clapboard on the front of the house was removed, all trim was stripped down to bare wood, and tyvek and new clapboards were installed (note the new sunburst atop the 3rd-story window -- painted with all the test colors!) along with new lighting (carriage lamps flanking the door, recessed spots in the ceiling, and floods outside):
The 50's photo and an older one (below), and study of similar houses in the neighborhood, was used to recreate the general style of the decorative columns on the front porch. The new "old" design was realized in new cedar and stock moldings. The brackets at the top were recreated using one old bracket found under the porch, and the 50's photo. New floodlights were installed while the porch was open, and new beadboard was used on the ceiling to replace the old original warped beadboard. Everything was painted to match the main and trim colors on the rest of the house.
A photo taken in the 30's showed what the original balusters looked like. This photo was used to recreate the balusters and the column design. Balusters were reproduced, painted, and the rails were made in sections and installed. A comparison photo shows the result.
This was the final part of the house to be redone, and this is what it looked like finished (compare to beginning state):
Colors were a custom mixed "raspberry sorbet" (as one passerby named it) for the main color (hence "The Raspberry House"), plumrose (lavender) for windows and trim, french pink for moldings, and jade green for highlights on teardrops, moldings, porch rails, door, and deck.
Here are some links to other decks and outdoor items.