Award-winning Alameda Queen Anne

Alameda A.W. Pattiani Queen Anne with its ROBA-designed façade restoration

This recently completed project in Alameda, CA  by Rynerson + O'Brien Architecture has just been awarded an Alameda Architectural Preservation Award.

Here is more about this fantastic house and what was done to revive it:

"This building is one of several remaining A.W. Pattiani houses in Alameda and Berkeley.  The house had been significantly altered by additions and expansions on its west and north elevations, by the removal of original ornament and by the application of wood shingles over original wood siding and previously ornamented surfaces. The west addition included a wraparound porch where none previously existed, covered by a squat, glass-roofed pergola supported on classical style columns.  The result of the cumulative changes was a house that was no longer recognizable as an A.W. Pattiani Queen Anne.

Queen Anne house façade before (left) and after restoration

"The current owners wanted to restore the character of A.W. Pattiani’s original design as well as specific Pattiani signature ornamental details to the property. They also needed to address serious water intrusion problems and the ensuing damage that had developed on the wraparound porch. It was not practical for the owners to consider giving up the previous addition and porch, but both additions were inconsistent with the original design and created massing challenges to restoring the main facade.

Pattiani-inspired details

"The solution to this dilemma was to restore the original portion of the structure as closely as possible based on existing Pattiani examples and historical photos, and to rebuild the deteriorated wraparound porch using a vocabulary more compatible with the original house.  This included adding a cupola that effectively conceals the awkward western addition while adding new ornament and massing in proportion to the original façade."  - Steve Rynerson

The house now sports original-style ornament and  a beautiful covered wraparound porch with many of the "gingerbread" details that A.W. Pattiani was known for. 

Interior of the new covered porch

Restoration and ornamental carpentry by Guild member Skeeter Jones / Clearheart Design.  Fellow Guild member Lynne Rutter collaborated with the owners to design the color scheme, adding a robin's egg blue/green ceiling to help showcase the covered porch. 

Interior of the porch under the new cupola

Exterior Painting and gilding by Olson's Painting, Alameda, CA.
Photos in this post by Steve Rynerson
more details at the Rynerson O'Brien blog.

Historic Floorcloth Recreated for Hay House

The dining room at Hay House with its new floorcloth

Gracewood Design,  our brilliant Associates based in Portland, Oregon, just completed a monumental project as part of the restoration of historic Hay House, The Palace of the South, in Macon, Georgia:  a custom floorcloth of over 1,300 square feet, recreating the original 1870 floorcloth. 

Painted floorcloths were a popular and fashionable floor covering choice in English and early American interiors, prior to the invention of linoleum in the late 19th century.

Original Hay House remnant and new reproduction by Gracewood Design

Remnants of the original Hay House floorcloth were found  under cabinetry that was being removed as part of the dining room renovation. The complex pattern required six stencils to create.  To obtain the textured look of the original, an extra pattern of stenciled thin lines was added, in a slightly different hue than their red and black backgrounds.

One of five 10 x 30' floorcloth panels in production

The new floorcloth was painted in long canvas panels, using many layers of paint, topcoat, and hand-finished with wax. The finished canvases were installed wall to wall, as was the original.  
The result is absolutely thrilling and beautiful surface as you can see in the above photo.  

 
Read more about floorcloths and the Hay House floorcloth, with step by step progress photos at the Gracewood Design website.
Congratulations to our members Gwen Jones and Ken Forcier and the entire Gracewood team on this outstanding project!

A Lead "Primer"

Lead Paint, Our Bodies, Our Homes

Guild Member Robert  Dufort explains why lead is such a hot topic for period building owners:

The presence of lead paint in older homes is a common problem. According to EPA studies, 69% of homes built before 1960 contain lead. Among homes built before 1940 that figure jumps to a whopping 87%!
Lead is a serious health and safety issue. Our bodies have zero use for lead, and we can only tolerate it in minimal amounts without negative effects to our health.  In children the consequences of lead exposure are more severe and more likely to be permanent.
Many older homes already contain some level of lead contamination created by friction points (e.g. the movement of doors and windows) and deteriorated paint. Furthermore, virtually all construction activities also have the potential to create lead paint dust - it is not just paint prep that disturbs lead containing surfaces!

Magic Brush's trained crew removing old paint- note the fashionable safety gear

EPA-RRP Certifications, Regulations, and More...
There are numerous regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over lead paint contamination,  including the EPA, OSHA,  and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). San Francisco even has its own local ordinances, as do other municipalities.

The EPA, in yet another attempt to inform contractors and homeowners of lead hazards and safe methods of mitigating "lead pollution", created the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule (RRP). Effective April, 2010, it mandated the certification of all contractors who work in pre-1978 housing and childcare facilities.
Any contractor who disturbs old lead paint must be EPA-RRP certified themselves, and only hire RRP certified subs.  Additionally, painting contractors who work on older residences should also be certified by the CDPH Childhood Lead Division.

Obviously, certification is only half the battle.  Implementing the regulations is certainly  the more important aspect.  And for that, one needs concerned employers, trained employees, and informed owners, general contractors, architects, and designers.

About Robert Dufort:

Robert Dufort founded his company Magic Brush, Inc.  in 1976. 
One of their specialties then (as now) was the "Painting Restoration" of Victorian facades, which often included stripping old lead paint.  In the "good ole days" this meant using propane torches to "burn" the paint off the building (without burning down the building, of course.)  Back then, we had virtually no knowledge of the  hazards of disturbing lead paint.  Gradually, our growing awareness of the issues demanded we take corresponding action.

In 1998, Robert completed the requirements for California Department of Public Health Certification to become a Lead Paint Supervisor, and in 2010 he passed the state Lead Risk Assessor exam, and is  now known as Inspector #3894.

To read Robert's "Lead Essay", please visit: www.magicbrush.net/lead.html