Ridgedale Restoration

Restoring the George W. Washington Home

Part IV - January 2009

Brick Repair
The first thing one notices upon approaching the house now is the repair of the brick exterior wall above the windows on either side of the front porch. The original damage of missing bricks was a definite structural problem for the building. Now it has been repaired very nicely. Exterior brick wall repair

The left photo above was taken several years ago before restoration began. [The leaning appearance of the exterior corner is due to camera perspective.]

To the right is a photo of a newly restored window in the front brick wall; note the brick repair just above the window. The brickwork was done by Tim Winther, of Cresthill Stoneworks, Winchester, Virginia.

Plaster Repair
3rd floor wall & ceiling damage

This photo shows a portion of a room on the third floor. Here the plaster was badly damaged from a leaking roof. Many of the roof rafters had to be replaced and the wall plaster was in very bad shape.

Now the ceiling has had lath nailed up and plaster has been applied to it as well as to the three walls that were badly damaged. See how they look after restoration below.

Intact plaster will not be replaced

This photo to the right shows the portion of intact plaster that was patched (above the door) and where the original plaster was cut out to allow for electric conduit to be run for the lights. Notice in the corner of the ceiling the two small round pipes protruding; these are the UNICO high velocity, low pressure system commonly found in old homes because of its small 2" diameter supply ducts. Caps will be installed later.

Here we see newly placed lath awaiting plaster. In order to increase the stability of the plaster modern wire mesh will be nailed to the lath before the plaster is applied. This holds the plaster much better than the wooden lath can. Below is the new bathroom with original ceiling lath some of which has been removed to run electric and plumbing.

This photo shows an area of wall where the plaster has pulled away from the underlying wall lath, but remains still intact. The restorer has the choice of ripping out the original plaster and replastering or of adhering the original plaster back to the underlying lath. Here the Shaws chose to keep the original plaster. They are using a product called Big Wally's Plaster Magic which is a cleaner/adhesive combination. The photo below shows how the old plaster was drilled and the holes and underlying surface cleaned, then the adhesive was squeezed into the holes and the plaster was pushed back to adhere to the old lath. Now only the cracks and holes will have to be repaired. The plaster work is being done by James Dicks and crew from Winchester, Virginia.
Big Wally's Plaster Magic repair kit

Sleeping Porch

This set of photos is of the sleeping porch. The storm doors on the right will be replaced with opening doors. Above can be seen the beginning of the ceiling repair. A trap door with ladder has been added to give easy access to the attic. In the far left corner and along the outside wall can be seen the hvac ducts. The lighter areas of the ceiling are where the metal mesh has been nailed to the wood lath.
Below is a closeup of the ceiling lath. It has been covered with metal mesh to better hold the plaster. Here one sees the first of the five coats of plaster. This is a very rough base coat with stength to adhere to the lath/mesh and roughness to hold the later smother coats of plaster. The final coat will be almost as smooth as a dinner plate as we saw in the earlier photos of the third floor plaster job.
sleeping porch ceiling repair

Kitchen Renovation kitchen far corner with fireplace

This set of three photos show the kitchen in its early stages of restoration. The top photo shows the original fireplace with hearth removed; its damaged bricks will be replaced. Just to the left is where the dumb waiter is and will be replaced. The second photo of the outside wall shows how the original plaster has been cut out to make room for the electrical conduit for lighting. Below is the front section of the kitchen which has been redesigned to allow for the pantry to open into the kitchen instead of into the hall. New lath has been installed with the light switch boxes and outlets sticking through. We look forward to having a dinner celebration for the completion of this important restoration project. We are certain that the owners who have shown such attention to detail will have an event properly reflecting the grandeur of this magnificant home. Of course we expect that everyone who has helped promote this project will be invited. Please see our "contact" page for information on how to forward an invitation to the webmaster.
kitchen front section

Electric, HVAC
main AC/heating unit in basement
utility closet with electric and humidifier

One benefit of restoration of old buildings is that it allows the installation of the most modern equipment to benefit not only the comfort of the owners, but also the security and longevity of the building. Here you see two photos of the very modern UNICO HVAC equipment that is being installed. Above is the main AC/Heat unit in the basement with it allied humidifier and also dehumidifier. This technology will help maintain the integrity of the structure of the building and will certainly make living in this old house quite comfortable. The photo to the right is of a small humidifier installed in a utility closet; it feeds into the hvac ducts nearby.

Basement repair

basement brick floor

water system When we first visited the house before renovation began the basement floor was a muddy mess. Here you see the newly laid brick floor under the center hall and the clean concrete floor in the utility room where the water system components are situated. The quality of a renovation job is as dependent upon what the visitor sees as well as on the work that most people will never see. Note the neat appearance of the electric conduit and the duct work.

Utilities

These photos show the complexity of renovating an old home and installing modern amenities with the necessary wiring, plumbing and ducting they require. This is the new bathroom that is being installed in the third floor where there was no plumbing. (Remember the days of chamber pots?) The photo on the left shows the lath of the partition wall on the left and the waterproof wall board required by the shower on the right. In the floor are seen various utilities. The photo on the right is the area behind the shower where all the electric, plumbing and hvac ducting meets. The silver insulated ducts are for the heating/air conditioning. The white pipes are water/sewage drains. The gray box on the wall is a humidifier for the heating/air conditioning system. The actual air conditioning unit is mounted upstairs in the attic. The electric and plumbing work shown here is being done by Mike Brinker of Mountaineer Homebuilders, Springfield, West Virginia.

new work on house Go to Part V - December 2009

Return to the Ridgedale main page.