Restoring Exterior Face - 1899 Brick Home

[StlTgeGuy]

Hi all!

Looking to restore the exterior face of my home to the original drawing plans. Specifically the top half/roof area. You can see in the attached pics the differences. I am most wanting to restore the dormers with finials and the fence/rail line that goes across the top.

Questions:

What type of architectural style is this home?

What would be the real name of that fence/rail piece across the top?

Any other specific insight or help on this? What type of contractor for this work? (Any local STL folks would be great!)

Thanks in advance!

[1918ColonialRevival]

If you're lucky, the dormer details might be lurking underneath those Mansard-looking coverings on the tops.

As for style, you're looking at an eclectic turn-of-the-century blend of several styles that were popular during the era. The overall shape is an interpretation of the foursquare, but there are elements of Neoclassical and Renaissance revivals present. It's a very interesting house.

[StlTgeGuy]

I hope you are right about the dormers. My neighbor has said the same about how the original might be underneath still. I need to take some time and try and uncover one.

Thanks for the information on the style. It is a very unique house. The block we are on it is the only house with the wide, uncovered front porch and the wide rounded entry steps at the street.

[StlTgeGuy]

So I finally got up on the roof and started taking apart some of the metal housing that was put on over the dormers (Should have taken pics, Doh!) I was able to pull back enough to see that there is definitely old wood right underneath still there, could not see much more or the face without pulling it all off, which is something I am not prepared to do yet.

Next time I go all in I will be sure and have some pics!

I am going to a local wood worker today to see about how much it would cost to replace the missing balustrade rails.

[phil]

I am going to a local wood worker today to see about how much it would cost to replace the missing balustrade rails.

If you want round pieces you really want a wood turner, with a wood lathe. optionally you could probably buy one for about $200 or so and try your hand at it. the chisels, maybe another $100 there ar elots of old ones and if you own one well you may only wan to make so many wood bowls.. some love that hobby so they will be the experts.

Or they can be made with CNC nowadays, point is a cabinetmaker would have all the skills to assemble the railing but you also want someone with a wood lathe.

as an option you could make just one and make a mold then use fiberglass or maybe something like plaster from a mold.

I had a little gizmo that you could mount a router on , then you can turn barley twist spindles and things. it had cables that worked along with the crank to bring the router across as you crank it. . found I never used it so I sold it. It wasn't much of a machine really. a sears craftsman gizmo.

originally they may have been done on a lathe with a follower. they did have duplicating lathes that were intended to copy things like that. but it can be done without too much complication using just chisels and maybe a pattern to follow.

I'd expect each to take a bit of time even at an hour each you can see the costs rising here. as with everything if you want enough, there is an easy way - a CNC wood lathe could spin the piece then use a router to cut the wood following a computer program, make very short work of each one.

Lots of joiners probably have wood lathes but they arent' really a necessity unless turning is a hobby or a specialty. at one time a "turner" was a profession in itself

Id suggest trying some woodwork forums. Post your area , see if you can flush out a local hobbyist.. or I know it isn't original but I'd be still tempted to use fiberglass because they will last really well and from the ground, you couldn't tell. and also because making a mold and then popping out a bunch would be less labor that turning each one.

but you do need at least one with the profile you want to make more. So Id get someone to make 1 then make a split mold from fiberglass and use that to make as many as you want from the same mold.

Ive used my metal lathe to turn wood. it isn't optimal but it can work. I dont really like showering my lathe with wood dust but it doesn't harm much of you follow with a good cleaning. they both spin the wood fine. the wood lathe has a rest to hold chisels against and you use long handled wood chisels. a metal lathe has basically cranks for the cutter to move in and out of sideways. If you have a friend with a metal lathe they probably wouldn't take on the whole bunch but maybe could do 1 for the pattern. the pattern could even be plastic or some soft easy wood to turn. It doesn't need to be super hard. depending on your mold making materials of choice, the mold might even be able to pick up the wood grain and then by wiping on stains and such on the actual pieces you can get something that looks really close to wood.

You can make a boat from another boat by the same process, first the fiberglass mold is made , then more boats can be made from that. there is a tool called a chopping gun that spits out the fiberglass and resin is added to the mix but it can be done by laying up sheets of fiberglass manually. they could be hollow or filled wiht some other material to save material cost. most fiberglass things of that size would be hollow not a solid chunk ecause it would be more material than necessary.

plaster might be cheaper. like the lawn ornaments. you can paint the original with rubber, then pour the mold to support the rubber mold. the rubber picks up better detail but the backer mold supports that so you dont need a huge amount. I think you'd use latex rubber. ask Mick if you plan to do this I think he knows the intricacies. of course plaster isnt' super light so it would add weight. there may be additives or you could use some foam or something to fill a center void so it wasn't super heavy I guess.


I think If i had to turn just one on my metal lathe, I'd use aluminum or plastic because it cuts easy and it's just the shape I'd want to make the mold, after that you are finished with it. Plastics, Like nylon cut like butter with a hot knife on a metal lathe. bit pricey but no dust. a chink of alunimum might have some cost as well but you can buy it in different diameters, try metal supermarkets, there are cheaper places too. they may have giant plastic rod as well.

there is a bit of art and proportions involved to make the spindles look right so you might find one to copy. maybe check if you have an old house part place ? you could try drawing patterns, fold the paper and cut it into the shape as if you were making a snowflake. the pattern might be the same from the center in both directions so fold the paper up.
and play with it until you feel happy, and compare to the best image you can get from the photos. there is a tool called a french curve you might use one to help make patterns with. its basically a piece of plastic with defined shapes of curves you can draw along to copy. a made in china one would be ok for this.

If you want wood ones I'd look for someone you can mail the pattern to. someone that has a CNC wood lathe might be further from you because it's pretty specialized but you can do mail order. they would program in the details for the shape then the machine runs by itself pretty much. If you used wood , the rot resistance would be important for that. they still would like a pattern because communicating what shape you want might be difficult.

I'd use fiberglass and a molding process myself but I know it isn't perfectly original. otherwise If I used a manual wood lathe I could see it being a long tedious job.

if you want someone to do mold making for you , ask if there is a fiberglass store near you. go ask there , they may know people in the movie industry (prop making) and such that may help. in a similar way you can ask the wood finishing supply company for a reference to find a joiner who owns a lathe.

You probably also need some railings and to join it all together. a joiner (cabinetmaker) could help with that.

phil

[Mick_VT]

I would be trolling around architectural slavge yards to see what they might have in oversized railings - you may find a good price on some period woodwork which will likely last better than new (old growth wood). If you go with creating from scratch you may want to consider having the new made from some of the modern synthetic options as they will withsatnd the weather better

[Gothichome]

You can get the original size of your turnings by getting scaling from your drawings by comparing the measurement of the drawing to the as built.

[PaulJohnson]

Where are you located? I may be able to connect you with a turner.
If there are not too many, I may be able to turn it for you with a sample to go by.

[Casey]

Hi,
I would call it a neo-classical palazzo style.
Recreating the balustrade is a noble impulse, but the maintenance headache if it were rendered in present-day quality of wood is unthinkable.I'd literally look into materials such as cast concrete or Foam/Fypon elements if they could be found of suitable proportions. If wood, they would need to be a tropical hardwood such as mahogany, and the end grain sealed with penetrating epoxy, all fasteners to be stainless.

[mjt]

I agree with Casey. My house had a balustrade over the front entry, along with one on the widows walk. Both were removed in the first 40 years of the house's life because they were maintenance-heavy. In addition, my front porch either side of the entry was removed for the same reason. Your corners will be similar to my front porch's; a simple box column with moldings and a cap that will take a beating from the weather. We've sometimes talked about doing a replica balustrade on on the entry, but it's really low on my priority list.