The Old House Doctor- The Exterior

The next book I got is called The Old-House Doctor by Christopher Evers, it's a how to book on old home repair.  There are great illustrations, but I think it's going to be most useful when restarting more of the inside.  These are the major points I want to add to my exterior plans

• To reinforce the chimney (which looks like it's in good condition), but just in case I would add reinforcement to the connection to the roof.  To do this use flashing over and under the roof shingles, the top edges are mortared into the joints.  Also add an apron, and a valley, which forces water into the roof drainage system.  This tool will help water drainage, to prevent leakage.
• The front door is well intact but I would have the door's stability tested.  Paneled doors during the time the house was built were loosely fitted, so they could expand and then contract depending on the seasonal humidity change. 

Diagram on how the original windows were installed 

New Life for an Old House- Exterior Research

After getting four books in the mail I realized I need to add more detail into the repairs of the exterior.  The first book I read that had great information on exterior repairs is call "New Life for Old Houses" by George Stephen.  It is a guide to restoration and repair of old home, it tells you how to do tons of repairs, and gives you the vocal you need to understand the technique side.  These are the pieces of added information I want to have in my plan, that I have gotten from this book.

• When I repaired and reinstall the windows it's important to create a thick trim to protect the window from rot.
• The siding I talked about repairing needs to be done in small strips; this will lower the possibility of the siding being destroyed.
• The windows used around the time the house was built were queen anne, stick, and shingle style windows.
• Entrances during 1910 in colonial/ neoclassical revival homes were the main feature on the exterior.  The windows, with fanlights, and sidelights need to stay because they add to the style.
• Surface treatment should be done to the outside of the entrance.  We should clean, remove any rust, and reapply the protective coating system.

This is a good reference for exterior vocabulary

Mentor Meeting 3/25

We talked about the books I got this week, we talked about how I want to read through the books.  I'm going to have to backtrack with house exterior because the books I ordered have so much more information.  They use some terminology I did not use before, and go into detail about what needs to be done.  We also talked about how to organize the information I learn in the books and not get lost.  I'm going to go through and find information about the pieces I'm planning at the time, them organize that even more by subject.  We talked about the man who emailed me from the historic center, and how I wanted the original blueprint but was not able to get it.
My goals for this week to get done are writing the art grant we talked about in class.  I'm going to read through the books, do a more detailed blue print, plan the furniture I'm going to use, and last read and grade other persons project while I'm away.

Exterior drafts

I started drawing the exterior of the house.  The first draft of the pieces are done. I'm having difficulty continuing at the pace I would like to because the books I ordered are taking a long time to get here.

Here is a draft of the outside- I still have to add more detail and layering when I have more time 

Plan for 3/23-3/29

Monday- Class meeting, decide on major rooms (post)

Tuesday- Post drafts, start on detailed room plans

Wednesday- Finish detailed room plans- continue reading books mentor meeting

Thursday- Start on a room plan

Friday- Continue room plan

Saturday/Sunday- I won't be able to draw the library plan because I will be away but I can finish it, and start on the bedroom plan

Targeting Major Rooms

I decided to focus on certain rooms that are "must fix" rooms, because they are in the worst condition.    Focusing on certain rooms can ensure I get the most important rooms planned.  Rooms like the numerous bedrooms, hall ways, or rooms that are in good shape will be second priority.  I would love to get every room done; however I don't know how realistic that goal would be seeing as there are are over 25 rooms.  These are the rooms I definitely want to get done.  

The Dining room

One bedroom- 12x16

The Master bedroom

Master bathroom

One upstairs bathroom

The Library

The Sun Room

The Family Room

The Kitchen 

The Living Room

Los Angeles Cultural Monument #117 source

I emailed the Los Angeles City Office of Historic Resources to try to find more information on the Beckett residence one week ago.  They finally got back to be with sending me numerous scans of documents they have on the house.  These made up 32 pages.  There was owner information, a few accident reports, as well as information on the Veteran housing agency that used the house for about 10 years.  These are the major point of new points of information.

• In 1971 the Veteran Housing Committee move into the house.  They were able to house 30 men in the house at once, but tried to keep it under 25 people.  The rent was $1,600 which included a bed, 3 meals, and a laundry service.
• Guadalupe Social owned the vet's home, and painted it for the first time since it was built, they uses classical painting techniques
• A reporter entered the house in 1973 to do a story on the vet's house, he wrote about the living conditions.  He called the interior architecture "extraordinary" 
• In 1980 or 1981 there was a house fire, damage was reported and some windows were replace and water damage that was repaired
• In 1992 Richard Rasales bought the house
• By 1995 Roymudo Lopez owned the house, but was not living in it, it was made a Cultural Historic Monument in LA.  Lopez also owned several other houses in the general area.  He put it on the market soon after he bought it 

Mentor Meeting 3/17

We started by talking about the problem I have had with finding research on how to repair a historic house.  I told her that I ordered the books I needed, which she supported.  We talked about inspiration I have had since looking at other people's blogs.  I came up with the idea to look for houses built around the same period in Ithaca, then take pictures to get inspiration.  We then talked about what I could do while waiting for the books, I'm going to look for decor the would be fitting in the home.  We also talked about making conscious decision about color 

scheme.  For goals I'm going to try to go to the history center in Ithaca, and learn to apply for a grant.

Plan for 3/16-3/22

Monday-  Class meeting, write post about progress

Tuesday- Mentor meeting, go through pictures and decide what rooms to focus on

Wednesday- After I have the rooms I'm going to go through the rooms and list what I think needs to be done

Thursday- Continue with Wednesday's work

Friday- Finish Wednesday's, hope fully some of the book I ordered will be here

Saturday/Sunday- Do the full illustration of the outside of the house, get books from the public library

WISE meeting and current progress

In WISE we talked about things we have learned about ourselves, and our project since beginning.  We also talked about how our project has changed from when we started.  We then watched a project another student made about another kids project.  After watching this video I better understand that some aspects of the project take longer than expected.  After watching the video I questioned why they cut the video off in the middle of the process.  

Currently with my project I can't move forward as fast as I would like to.  I did not finish the foyer illustration because I felt like I did not have the research I wanted.  I felt like I needed more resource to use in planning the restoration properly.  To fix this I found a lot of books that have great information on how to restore houses.  Unfortunately the public library has only 2 of the books I want, barns and nobles does not either.  So on amazon I found all the books for an extremely low cost which I ordered.  These were from independent sellers, so they could get her either on Thursday or April 6.  Because of this I'm going to have to readjust my plan for the next few weeks.

Reflecting on Other People's Blogs

I read Dylan's and Caitlin's blogs.  Both had nice layouts with organized posts.  The pictures the two posted were beautiful from places they were doing to do hands on work.  It made me feel like I should be doing more of that.  I could go look at houses around Ithaca that have Neoclassical, or Greek Revival architecture; and take pictures of them.  Both also use great imagery in their posts that I would like to do more.

Floor Plan

The floor plan will be changed a little, but only to have it reflect the style of home plan that was common in 1910.  There have been changes to the house that were made to use the house as a modern large family home, or maybe large group home.  I will be opening it up a little more to make the rooms more functional.  I will als be changing some of the rooms, so they they can be restored to how they would have been when the house was built.  

I kept most of the rooms the same on the main floor, but just tried to open the layout open a little more.  I started with the kitchen and broke down the hallway from the kitchen to the dining room to create a breakfast or informal dining room.  A smaller eating area was common with wealthy families.  The smaller room off the kitchen will be a pantry, and the room next to it will be a mudroom, which will lead to the back of the house.  I then opened the room between the mudroom and sunroom up with an arch way.  Then another archway from the sunroom to the library I chose to put in.  Many houses had a library, or drawing room where the family could entertain themselves.  Having an opening in the wall into the family room closes off the library a little.  The family room is like the less formal sitting room, which has a fireplace.  Another opening in the wall leads to the living room, where guests would be taken in the house.  Then it opens into the foyer, which is the main entrance of the house opens up to.  To the left of the foyer is the office, where there is another fireplace.  The office has a door that leads to a closet and half bathroom, which comes full circle to the kitchen again.  Right in the middle of the house is the dining room, with french doors from almost every room opening into it.  The dining room was often the center of old houses because it as where diners were held.  Between the foyer and dining room is the grand staircase which leads to the second level.

The upstairs of the house had been converted into many small rooms, which all have connecting doors.  This was done by the veteran housing residents who left in the early 1990s.  Because I want the house to be turned back into the original single family home I took down want of the doors and surrounded the rooms around the three bathrooms.  The master room I kept the same and I decided to make the bedroom it opened into a master sitting area and closet space with french doors opening into it.  I forgot to draw in the door, but the sitting area could open into the hallway.  There are two bedrooms near the stairs that both open to the hallway.  Before you had to go through one of the bedrooms to get to the hallway, but I would break down that hall so the stairs lead to the hall.  There is a doors from bedroom 1 to the bathroom connected to 2.  The hallway as an area that I’m calling the “book nook” where there is a bench and book shelves.  Next to had is another bathroom close to bedroom 3.

Mentor Meeting 3/11

I had my second mentor meeting today.  We started talking about my experience at the Argo's, we then went over my schedule for the week.  She recommend the book "At Home", by Bill Bryson, who writes about the history of different rooms in the home.  This might be useful in my planning of weather I want to keep the floor plan the same.  We talked again about contacting the LA historic society, which I have now done, and am not waiting for their response via email.  Last we talked about some short term goals for this week, one is learning how to apply for a grant next WISE class.  Another for this week is finishing the floor plan, and one room plan.

Meeting with the Argo's Inn owner

Today I meet with the owner of the Argo's Inn the owner (A. Smith), and the man who planned the restoration of the house.  Walking into the Argos was incredible, it's a perfect mix of modern and historic home styles and decor.  I sat down with Smith in the sitting area, and he told me about the the history of the house, and the uses it has been put to.   The houses history was interesting to listen too. By the time Smith got the house it had been divided into apartments then office spaces.  We went through photos of before and after his renovations.  Hearing him describe each room being restored to its formal glory gave me lots of ideas for the Beckett house.  The Argos had lots of the same features as my house, as well as the same rooms.  Getting a tour of the house left me almost speechless, the rooms and how he restored them, but also brought a modern twist in inspired me.  Seeing the house so like the Beckett house become something so beautiful was such a great opportunity.  I am glad Smith was kind enough to show me his completed restoration.

Examples of Home Plans

There have been several walls put up in stage places due to renovations.  These plans are the original neoclassical and colonial plans I can reference to try to restore to the original plan, but still be practical.
Characteristics of a floor plan/ rooms neoclassical and American colonials homes have:
Similar proportioned rooms,  tall ceilings, two stories,  formal living room,  dining area, entertainment room,  family room,  a study,  foyer, sun room, and a great room.

Example 1- Main floor

Example 2- Main Floor

Example 3 Main Floor

Example 3- Second floor

Example 4- Second floor

Example 4 Main Floor

Example 5 Main Floor

Example 5 Second floor

http://www.houseplans.com/plan/5120-square-feet-5-bedrooms-4-bathroom-luxury-home-plans-3-garage-14612

http://www.williampoole.com/plans/Southerly

http://www.eplans.com/house-plans/epl/styles/neoclassical-house-plans.html

http://www.homeplans.com/house-plans/hp/styles/neoclassical-home-plans.html#criteria[hw_num_bedrooms][]=5+&criteria[hw_num_baths][]=4&p=2

Plan for 3/9-3/15

Monday-
Class Meeting and start research on the home layout

Tuesday- Continue research, meet with Argos owner and get a tour, along with information about the Argo's restoration

Wednesday-
Continue floor plan design, mentor meeting

Thursday- Start research on the first room (foyer)

Friday- Start illustration for the foyer, I finished research

Saturday/ Sunday- Finish illustration over the week end, comment on two people's blogs, and reflect with a post

The Exterior Plan

The Beckett Residence is relatively well off structurally, much more than I would have expected.  After researching tell tail signs of obvious damage I think the house looks worse off than it is.

Major characteristics of this house are the  

• Dentil Moulding at the bottom of the roof

• Pediment over the front entrance porch

• Six two story Corinthian columns framing the entrance

• Three different kinds of windows- picture, fixed, and arch fixed

• Symmetrical sides- the face of the house towards the road is symmetrical

• A sun room addition

• Two stories, 1st is the living floor, 2nd is the has bedrooms

• Narrow eaves

• Hipped roof

• Bay windows- can seen as extensions

• Panelled entrance

• Fireplaces

• Detailing around the windows, and door way

• Evenly spaced windows

• A series of side extension

To plan what repairs of the outside of the house need to be done I first identified all major parts of the house so I could properly identify them.  Most of the issues are the same around the house (from the front to the back), so I can generalize.  I targeted the major areas that need to be fixed.

• This bare area under the roof is called a "fascia", which is a band of wood in this care that runs horizontally under the roof. The ridges under it are called cornice, which are well intact. You would had to remove any partial pieces, and use a fitted piece of heartwood as a replacement.  Heartwood is the most resilient type of wood, also try to get pressure treated, because it does well on the exterior of a house. Prime the wood, the attach it to the rafter with galvanized finish nails. As to secure it further, caulk the nail head.

• Some of the siding on the back of the house has faded over the years, been burnt from the fire in 1981, or show signs of water damage.  It's important to keep the material the same, so I would be replacing the damaged areas with sheets of wood similar to the original.  Using again heartwood, I would remove the damaged area and replace the material.  To remove wood siding you need to remove the whole plank until the seem.  Pull the wood out with a chisel towards you to minimize damage.  There will be building paper under the wood, and use roofing cement to secure the need sized wood.  Then nail the new wood in at the top and bottom.  Fill nail holes in and the vertical seams using caulk to do this. Then you can prime and paint.  

• The pediment needs to be repaired, and can be like the the siding in how it needs to be repaired.  This house was made with very few parts, meaning that the siding was all the same on the exterior.  

• The stucco needs to be patched in some areas on the back of the house.  Stucco is very durable, and water resistant so it can last your years.  You want to color match the original stucco, so you can buy coloring pigment to add to your stucco mix which will help with the color matching. You should use a chisel to chip away any loose pieces of stucco that are hanging off.  Push the mixed stucco to to push into opening, put enough on so the new stucco is slightly higher off the wall than the original.  Then let it s set for a little bit, and then smooth the new areas surface so its level with the wall.

• The windows that need to be replaced are either boarded up or look as though they were replace in the 70s.  The windows in the front of the house were saved so I can match them to the shapes boarded up; and try to get as close to the same look as they have now. I'm going to put another post up about how to replace windows.

• The pillars in the front of the house are well intact, but on the left front column a leaf broke off.  You could make a custom plaster mold for the broken off piece and match it to the other full columns.  This is rather difficult and many websites recommend going to an expert to do this.  It's less expensive to sand down the broken area and just paint over it. I could also use plywood to mold into the piece that I want to fit the hole.

Mostly the house just needs to be thoroughly cleaned and painted over with water resistant paint to give it the lift the exterior needs; there are no huge repairs that need to be done.

Sources-

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,332355-2,00.html

http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/colonial-revival.htm

http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/colonial-revival-jpg.htm

http://www.frontdoor.com/home-styles/neoclassical-architecture

http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/exteriors/siding/repairing-wood-siding/?page=2

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/repairing-fascia-boards-84141.html

http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/1545

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20170725_20410669,00.html

http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/neoclassical.htm

http://www.cmhpf.org/S&Rs%20Alphabetical%20Order/surveys&rlytle.htm

http://www.oldhouseauthority.com/archive/column

http://www.realtor.com/advice/damaged-stucco-easy-repair/

Mentor Meeting 2/3

We met 5th period, and started the discussion with going over my schedule for the week.  My mentor (L. Augustine) knew the owner of the Argo's Inn, which I had planned to visit on Saturday as an example of a well done restoration.  She texted the owner (A. Smith), and hopefully I will be able to talk to him or an employee about the Argos.  My plan for the week is ambitious, and we talked about if I can't meet it we will work on setting realistic goals.  She gave me several sources I should try use to find more information on the history of the house.  She told me to look for past Los Angeles news articles, also to write to the Los Angeles history center to try to get the records for the house.
When I look for old pieces of the house I might need she recommended going to significant elements. Ask them for recommendation on how to repair a house from the 1910; or places in Ithaca that could help.  She said to ask the Ithaca History center what they might know about who to go to in Ithaca that might have more insight.  Look for the decedents of Beckett to find out more about what happened to them in LA.  Last we went over my plans for the finial product. 

Characteristics of Neoclassical and Colonial Revival Homes

These are the major characteristics of Neoclassical and Colonial Revival homes.  I will be adding more as I continue to research, these are also mostly about the exterior of the house (which I will be focusing on first.

• Dentil Moulding
• Pediment
• fluted columns (ionic and corinthian)
• palladian windows
• double hung windows featuring multiple panes
• symmetrical facade- symmetrical sides
• side porches
• Sun rooms
• Rectangular shape
• 2 stories
• Side gable roof with narrow eaves
• hipped roofs
• bay windows  all are proportionate
• entrance is column centered
• two story pillars
• quions at corners
• detailed trim
• gable roofs
• dormers
• baneled doors
• 1st floor living area, 2nd floor has bedrooms
• fireplaces
• pedimented front porch
• tall columns
• elbarate door ways
• evenly spaced windows
• boxed eaves
• sometimes different windows
• side extensions 

Sources- 
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,332355-2,00.html
http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/colonial-revival.htm
http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/colonial-revival-jpg.htm
http://www.frontdoor.com/home-styles/neoclassical-architecture
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/neo-classical.htm

Plan for the week of 3/2-3/8

Monday-
In class meeting
Post the history of Neoclassical revival and Colonial revival architecture, as well as reflection on Dr. Berkett

Tuesday-
Meet with mentor (even Tuesday)
Post the major characteristics of Neoclassical revival and Colonial revival architecture

Wednesday-
Research how to start to restore the outside of the house, and problems I might come across, take notes

Thursday-
Finish research on outside of the house, sketch the landscape plan, start to plan the illustration of the outside of the house.(journal post?)

Friday-
Illistrate the outside appearence of house based on plan- post drawing and information by Sunday

Saturday/Sunday-
See the Argos Inn for a restoration example, pick a room in the house to start the restoration/research on. Finish exterior illistration

A History of Neoclassical Revival and Colonial Revival Architecture

The house that will be the subject of my project, I will call the "Beckett Residence".  The Beckett Residence has a mixture of two styles of architecture, that are both very similar, and go very well together.  They are called Colonial Revival, and Neoclassical.  It would be easy to combined the two and just call the house one or the other, however there are small differences with into the two styles that I don't want to ignore.  Just to get it out of the way, that difference is that Neoclassical architecture is know for being more elaborate because it is inspired by Greek and Roman architecture (ie ionic pillars).  Neoclassical, although known for it's symmetry, often adds side extensions to the house, as well as bay windows.  These additions are there to add to suggest importance, most of the other features of neoclassical houses are the same as colonial revival homes, their histories are also very related.

Here is a brief history of the two styles:

Colonial and Neoclassical revival homes became popular in 1880 and remained popular until 1955.  This style is like the grandfather of many American houses, because so many different styles branched out from it (including neoclassical).  The styles were inspired by Greek and Roman buildings, and were inspired loosely on Federal and Georgian houses.  Many historians believe that they marked the end of the Victorian style period, because the simplicity was a rebellion from the excessively elaborate Victorian style.

The simplicity was seen as a comfort to many Americans as the country became more industrialized.  I found an article that said if you had one of these houses you were tradition, with solid values. Even though I don't know how a house can say that people felt like the style broadcast their patriotism.
A major factor of the Neoclassical style's sudden popularity was the Colombian Exposition in Chicago in the 1890s.  Now I got really excited because I love the history of The Chicago World's Fair.  To keep it short it was in 1893, and was made to show off America's progress in the world.  It was done through creating spectacular architecture that represented an ideal urban culture. It was was supposed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' journey to America. The architecture in the fair was called the "White City".  It was called the White City because of the white stucco the buildings were made out of, the same material the Beckett Residence is made out of.  
The World's Fair created the desire to own a Neoclassical house, it was seen as a symbol of wealth, and upper class status. It also helped that some of the most recognizable American buildings are Colonial and Neoclassical revival styles,  such as the U.S Supreme Court build, and the Lincoln Memorial.

The two styles of architecture have a lot in common, and in building the home he did Dr. Berkett reviled a little about himself.  Although I can only assume this, I think Berkett wanted to show off his wealth by building the home.  However he also wanted to show off the power be had, and the elegant lifestyle he had.  Berkett was not a young man when he built it, he had a wife, and wanted a family; so he settled on building a distinguished looking mansion that could say "I'm rich, but also have taste". 

Source-
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,332355-2,00.html
http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/colonial-revival.htm
http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/colonial-revival-jpg.htm
http://www.frontdoor.com/home-styles/neoclassical-architecture