A Belated Terror
I should have done this post Halloween night.
For, what you will see…will TERRIFY!
Jordan asked for more images of the…EEK!…south facade.
When I purchased the house in 2014 the south facade (right) was marred by a fire escape. This blighted the house and…
…it had to go. See the big curved sweep of the porch (right)? See the column-less stone plinth? That is not original and will be removed, allowing the restoration of the “grand sweep” of the curved porch.
Otherwise, I have done little with the south facade since buying the house. However, a second Heritage Fund grant will enable its restoration. The work will commence next year!!!!!!!!
See the stonework to the left? The whole middle section is not original. I look forward to removing it.
These are the library windows. This whole architectural ensemble kinda mimics the dining room on the north facade. Note how the porch cornice and the porte-cochère cornice CRASH into the house. Bam!
The porte-cochère. Its gable mimics the west porch gable, and will be painted the same. The carriage house is LOOMING to the right.
I have but three words about the porte-cochère columns: the poor dears.
The southeast corner of the south facade. The huge arched openings are to the sleeping porch; this was closed up for many decades. The Tyvek area was rebuilt in 2014; the large windows (restored) are to the kitchen. Also note the comically cobbled-together downspout to the far right. The entire main roof drains to this downspout. Which was missing when I purchased the house, causing immense damage. I believe that the original downspout was hidden (inside the walls). I have no idea at the moment of how to aesthetically resolve the downspout. Also note the wide second-floor window, right. I have sticks holding it together!
The south facade will be an immense amount of work. More than another other facade. The direct south sun has just beaten all the wood pretty much to death, and missing downspouts have turned into pulp whole areas of wood.
All the shingles on the second-floor will be replaced. The lapsiding on the first-floor (right) will be replaced as will most of the sheathing under, and all the framing and sill under the window (the window is to the servant’s hall).
Without the Kansas Heritage Trust Grant I would be financially unable to do this work. Every state in the union should have such a grant. Every state.
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Thank you Ross. Just when I thought I’d gotten to know the house rather well through all your posts, seeing these photos is like being introduced to another house! The scale of your project is incredible. During the current refurb of my own home (tiny in comparison!) every time I’ve been stressed or frustrated with contractors I’ve taken a moment and checked your blog for updates.
Seeing your progress has a curious calming effect on me. If you can face that mammoth task alone, then I need to take a deep breath and remember that anything is possible!
Thank you for the inspiration and keep going….!!! “It’ll be worth it when it’s done!”
Ross, you are doing such a superb job, restoring this grand lady. As for the downspouts for the upper story, you could paint the downspout the same color as the wall behind it. Possibly move the downspout closer to the sleeping porch corner by the small window, cut across to what looks to be a missing collum on the porte-cochère and (I know this sounds crazy) through the collum itself. It would require a hollow collum, then pipe the water under the red brick and sod to empty out in the backyard. Maybe into some native planting bed.
Yikes, that is a ton of work! What if you ran that downspout along the ridge of that roof to the breakfast nook? and then down the corner of the house. Painted in the appropriate colors, it would blend in. Not the best option, but downspouts are a necessary evil. I should look through the barn see if there’s any 2 inch downspout segments. I think all the ones I’ve got are the corrugated variety, not smooth like yours.
Every day when I open my email I hope there is a posting from you. I have followed all of your work on the house. Sometimes I want to crawl through the screen to help you with this beautiful project. Thank you for letting me know how we will be approaching the renovation of the south facade. I will be there working right along with you!! 🙂
Yay pictures! Thanks Ross and great suggestion Jordan. What is the back story with the added stone work? Whoever did it did an amazing job. I never would have guessed that it wasn’t original.
When I look at these photos, my first thought is “what an amazing amount of work left to do on the outside.” And then I recall just how much you’ve done already. Each detail painstakingly resolved, including the bat! It would be great if a group of painting enthusiasts showed up one day in their 5th wheel campers, stayed the weekend, and helped. Perhaps you could also start a “come paint me” page along with your “go fund me” one. I bet folks would sign up if they had group transportation.
I suspect Ross is too exacting a painter to pawn the task off. My mother was that way. She could paint like no one else — fast, with no waste, no mess, crisp edges and thorough coverage — and cringed at the thought of painting “help”. Though she did let us sand! And I was permitted to do trim once I proved myself.
You know me well, Kit!
“The porte-cochère. Its gable mimics the west porch gable, and will be painted the same.”
I wonder, would there have been spindles and a rail atop the limestone wall here Ross? It’s almost as if the porte cochere’s face is missing the teeth from its smile!
Thanks again for sharing these photos.
It almost makes sense that the offending downspout would have gone in through the house. Perhaps straight into a basement cistern? It would have been right under the kitchen. Something new in investigate.
All the gutters, save the north porch, originally drained into the cistern. Which is intact. I plan to connect the comically cobbled-together downspout back to the cistern, which I will use for watering the garden.
When I have a garden…
At first I was dismayed to see what still has to be done but then I contemplated the adventures ahead in history and architecture; investigations into porte-cocheres and carriages, discussions on servants entrances, contemplation of those beautiful curved walls into that top window, the loveliness of those arches around the sleeping porch… I can hardly wait! And I wondered if that nicely built imposter, the stone plinth, could be moved intact and repurposed as mail box or heritage site signage, gate post, garden feature etc?
I think the south side is my favorite. So many details! Will you complete the east side first or start on the south side next?
I can continue to paint through to January.
So, I may work on the east side.
But I may instead go inside and finish up the ductwork system.
I also have a hankering to finish the L-shaped main porch. Its west side is mostly done. Its south side is untouched.
In short, I am uncertain of how to spend the next three months. Which is really unusual for me.