Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H-1: Level II

12-E-17-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Construction of addition or outbuilding

The project consists of a new rear addition (south side of the house)l modifications to the existing 2-story rear-facing screened porch (north side of the house) and construction of a replacement turret roof.
Project scope includes:
Non-original mudroom (2006) and porch on south side to be demolished and replaced with a new addition (125 SF footprint) clad in wood lap siding on first level and with cedar shakes on second level (size and profile to match the house's original siding) with brick foundation to match original house. New or salvaged double-hung windows used in addition will match originals as closely as possible and will be wood. Hipped roof to be lower pitched than existing hipped roof and covered with interlocking metal clad roofing.
Enclose second- floor screened porch on north side of house with shingles match main house and wood casement windows. Enlarge first-floor screened porch to project 5'-6" on the north side and frame in with pilasters and beadboard knee walls is as depicted in submitted drawings. Roofing to be interlocking metal clad roofing.
Reconstruct conical roof on the turret based on a historical photo as a documentary guide (included in this application). The roof structure will be constructed of wood. The roof covering of the conical cap will be of cedar shake to match original and the metal finial will be as closely matched as possible to the original.

Site Info

Two-story frame with weatherboard and imbricated shingle wall covering. Hip roof with offset cross gables, asphalt shingled, cresting with finials. One-over- one and Queen Anne-over-one double-hung windows. Palladian window in front gable. One-story two-thirds front and side wrap-around porch with metal standing seam roof, shingled front gable, applied cross-timbering in porch gable with spherical protrusions and sawn wood panel of applied shamrock pattern, turned wood posts (now round columns), turned spindled balustrade, beadboard ceiling. The original two-story rear porch on the north side with turned wood posts, turned wood balustrade on second floor and varied sawn wood brackets was removed for a two-story screened porch prior to 2012. One interior offset brick chimney with inset arch and corbelling on interior offset of rear brick chimney. Brick foundation. Irregular plan. Two-story turret with missing conical roof. Rear porch on south with mudroom was constructed prior to 2013. (C) CLT81MNN009

1) The house is a contributing structure within the Fourth and Gill H-1 as well as the National Register Historic District.

2) The north side addition of the screened-in porch will project from the house by 5'-6". Althouth this addition will be on the side of the house (rather than the rear), and the character-defining feature of the front wrap-around porch is on this side, the projection of the proposed addition will be 10 inches less than that of the existing front porch. This addition is also located toward the rear-most portion of this side.

3) The enclosure of the upper porch on the north side with a row of windows alludes to a sleeping porch, which were sometimes found on the rear of Queen Anne houses. This type of enclosure has been approved as a precedent by the HZC given that the structure retains the character of a porch and not a complete enclosure. It does not alter the dimensions or the roof line of the existing porch.

4) The proposed two-story south addition replaces a later constructed porch and mud-room enclosed in 2006, so no historically significant fabric will be lost.

5) The south addition is offset 6 inches where it connects to the main house and there will be a corner board on the lower level that helps to distinguish the new addition from the earlier construction. The bracketed overhang proposed on the rear of the addition will correspond to that existing on the south side.

6) To create distinction between the old and new roof forms, a lower-pitched metal hipped roof intersects the main house slate roof. Off-set construction for the south addition renders it more discernable from the main part of the house so that its original or early form is not lost.

7) All proposed wooden materials and the interlocking metal roof on the screened porch and addition are compatible with those of the main house. Any salvageable parts of the existing second-level window on the south side will be utilized to repair other windows if possible.

8) The reconstructed conical roof, which has been missing approximately 40 years on the turret, will be based on a historical photo as a documentary guide, and materials and details will match as closely as possible.