Outside Jobs: New Roof Installed

Things have been moving at a slower pace while we wait to make sure our proposed plans meet with all the requisite approvals, but Norris House does have repaired fascia boards and a new roof!

This will go a long way towards protecting the interior from ongoing water intrusion.  The dark charcoal shingles aren't all that visible from the street given that they're so high up there, but at this point the entire upper roof is done!  The roofers will return when the front and rear additions are complete to finish up these roofs, as well as the roofs on the north and south porches.

Historic North Porch: These Walls Are Talking

Thank goodness the north elevation generally survived The Purge, a.k.a the 1930s phase of construction at Norris House.  Several of these design elements are pivotal in our efforts to restore the front elevation as closely as possible to the original Victorian version.

This is a photo of the north side of Norris House.  See that gable bracket up top, with her original drop finial?  

In some ways, these exterior walls are talking - they provide some of the evidence that supports restoration of the front elevation.

That's the same gable bracket that appears on the front and on the south side of the house, except that the version on front is missing the drop finial.  The good news is that we will likely be allowed to repair the front bracket by replacing the drop finial - because we know what it looked like thanks to the intact gable bracket on the north side.  All of our restoration efforts require evidence to support the proposed changes, which is understandable.  

The same principle applies to the details of the porch on the north side of Norris House.  Our friends at Fulford's in Wilson, NC can create new pieces for the front porch using the existing balusters and balustrades/railings as they exist now on the north porch.  They will also faithfully recreate the decorative brackets seen flanking the columns in the photo immediately below. Norris House originally had a covered front porch nestled between a pair of bays, and that porch had columns, brackets, balusters and balustrades like those seen on the original north porch.