The exterior of the main building was in need of attention in a number of places, and the work went on for several years. We found sills damaged by previous leaks. We found clapboards falling off the wall. Some of the architectural trim was deteriorated. All of the wooden clapboards were either sanded down to the bare wood or torn off and replaced. The entablatures were either repaired or rebuilt, brackets and dentils likewise. The front vestibule received quite a bit of work, including replacing one of the columns.
The paragraphs below give an overview of the various phases. There are links within each section, click on these to for additional details on each.
First Repairs (West wall)
We started with some repairs to the West wall. As you can see, there was no siding on part of the back when we bought it. This was repaired before we moved in. The entablatures were in urgent need of repair; there were nests in them and they could leak water into the building. These had to be rebuilt from scratch.
East and North Walls
Once that was out of the way and the side porch was complete, we started on the East and North Walls. All of the siding was either sanded down to the bare wood or replaced, some entablatures were rebuilt, and it all got new paint.
the Vestibule
At the same time, the Vestibule needed work. This turned into a substantial project.
West Wall – 2016
In June 2016 we moved on to the West wall and worked on it through the end of October.
the West Wall 2019-2020
The old and new structures were joined, windows were installed, old siding was repaired and new siding was put on. This took two working seasons.