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/