Wright Chat

Today was an absolutely beautiful, mild winter day here in Chicago. We uncovered the house for these construction photographs. It took 6 months to do the work that you see here, but the results are worth it. Our work has ultra fidelity to FLW's 1901 design as it was built. We worked off of copies of the original blueprints with FLW sketches on them, two original exterior photographs, a published plan in a Robert Spencer article, and archeological analysis of the existing construction. Before starting construction we built a computer model of the house. We made extensive use of a laser leveling and measuring devices. Before we built the roof extension we laid out the geometry of the roof in place with string. The existing eaves cantilever out between 4 feet and 5 feet 6 inches. The original eaves were built out of a 2x4 roof rafter extension and a 2x4 lookout. It was unbelievable. We found evidence of structural failure at the south eave valley, possibly due to wet snow. The existing eaves adjacent to the new eaves were structurally reinforced and new eave vents were cut in.



Construction photograph of the west and north facades showing the roof extension, bay, and temporary shoring of the existing low roof at the entrance.



Construction photograph of the west facade. The 3 original 1901 art glass doors will be restored and installed in the bay in the spring. The 1901 terrace will be rebuilt this summer.



Contstruction photograph from the southwest. The scaffolding is a German design commonly used inside of nuclear power plants. This was selected for its vertical flexibility needed for the sloping roof.

Beautiful! It looks like origami.

Nice pictures, and your post is the same day as the Chicago Tribune article on people in the Chicago area restoring Prairie homes. Your description of the size lumber used in the eaves is common to what the owners of the other Prairie houses have found with their homes.



The link to the Tribune article is http://www.chicagotribune.com/classifie ... 0968.story You have to register with the Tribune to view the article.



One of my clients owns an original Prairie home by another architect and he replaced quite a few support beams to bring the home back to level.

Paul,



Are you living in the house now, and when is your targeted completion date? I would love to see it when finished...



EJ

Paul - It looks awesome! Way to go!

A. Ozga

Anonymous wrote:Are you living in the house now, and when is your targeted completion date? I would love to see it when finished...

Targeted completion date is September 1, 2006. However I am much more concerned with ultra fidelity to the original than the completion date. We are being very scientific and thoroughly researching each step. Some of what we are doing is very innovative and challenging, especially in the areas of structural repairs and the interior finishes. Some of the existing plaster wall panels are in very good condition and will receive minimalist restoration by an art conservator. Since our children are grown, we are using a water based interior paint system scientifically matched to the original which is not durable and somewhat fragile. Hopefully we can achieve an identical look to the original without being bound by durability issues except in the kitchen and bathroom. We are moving at a fine pace, but it takes time. I am also bumping up against budget limitations which may impact the completion date. If you see a can in your local retailer labeled "Save the Davenport House and, Paul and Cheryl's Marriage" please put in a quarter.



We are not living in the house. We will move in mid-July while the exterior work is being completed.



Email me any time for a tour.

Looking great, Paul. Thanks for sharing!

You might take a tip from the Clintons and rent out the guest room to big donors.

.....and be sure to hire contractors recommended by Bush if you want a "heck of a job".