Historic Zoning Commission

Old North Knoxville H-1: Level II

10-J-13-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Replacement/repair

Repair and replacement of rotted wooden porch floor with an new painted wooden floor, removal of non-original shingle porch piers and knee walls to be replaced by non-conjectural square wooden columns. The existing porch roof will remain as is.
The porch floor is currently tongue and groove and will it be replaced with the same.
A new painted wooden picket fence is to be installed along property lines, no higher than 4 feet.

Site Info

Two-story frame with weatherboard and wood shingle wall covering. Front-gable roof with asphalt shingle covering, partial returns on gable ends. Double-hung one-over-one windows. One-story three-quarter front porch with wood columns and balustrade. Brick foundation. Interior off-center brick chimney. Irregular plan. Recessed sidelights and transom at front entry. Bay window on north elevation.

1) The historic resource inventory indicates that the house is a "Bungalow-style built in 1915. The house components are eclectic and appear to be a transition between a Queen Ann /Colonial Revival (19001910) and a Craftsman of the American Foursquare type. The shingled piers and solid porch balustrade are a style that was typical throughout the 1930s and occur during a time period when many original wooden porches were being replaced.

2) No documentation had been found as to whether the piers and balustrade and their configuration are an original configuration

3) The shingled square balustrade and piers are typical porch elements for the American Foursquare according to various architectural history websites as submitted in the report by staff.

4) The current central porch opening does not align with the off-center front door; however, this configuration sometimes occurred in American Foursquares according to various architectural history websites as submitted in the report by staff.

5) Given their age and typicality for Foursquares, staff believes that the c. 1930s shingled piers and balustrade have acquired historic significance in their own right.

STAFF COMMENTS
The applicants have not investigated any physical evidence as the existing balustrades cover the area where any evidence might be. The applicants are preparing to conduct some minor exploratory demolition to look for the original column locations. They will conduct this demo in non-visible areas from the street.

If approved to be replaced, the porch supports should be unembellished and very simple as the proposed square posts. They should not compete or detract from the historic character of the house.

OLD NORTH KNOX DESIGN GUIDELINES (all design guidelines apply)

PORCHES
" . . . individual [porch] details should be repaired and preserved,
or replicated if good documentation of the original porch exists."

1. Repair porches on historic houses using wood floors,
balustrades, posts and columns, or replace duplicating the
original size and design. Reconstruction of the documented
original porch is also appropriate.

The following SECRETARY OF INTERIORS STANDARDS are particularly applicable to this proposal:
2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.

4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

5. Distinctive features, finishes and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.