Staff recommends approval of the work as proposed, with the following conditions: 1) final window specifications and placement to be submitted to staff for approval; 2) proposed balusters to meet building code, with final selection submitted to staff for approval.
Level 1 COA approved 2/19/2021: Removal of non-historic vinyl siding and repair of any existing wood clapboard siding underneath. If no wood siding remains, new wood lap siding, wood trim, and wood cornerboards to be installed.
Overall, rehabilitation project to remove non-historic modifications and restore house's original features and materials. Removal of non-historic vinyl siding; if wood lap siding underneath remains, it will be repaired or new wood clapboard siding will be installed. Removal of non-historic vinyl windows on façade and installation of new double-hung wood windows. On the façade, window under porch will match specifications for a decorative double-hung window with leaded glass in the upper pane. Window example shown selected from similar style and era house in neighborhood and 1910 Sears, Roebuck catalogue. Remaining windows on the façade will be replaced with one-over-one, double-hung wood windows with wood trim, to reflect placement and sizes of similar properties.
Enclosed rear porch includes wood lap siding and wood trim to be used as guide for window trim, siding exposure, and exterior trim details.
Reconstruction of foundation on porch and left side of front elevation. Concrete porch floor on stuccoed foundation will be replaced with a tongue-and-groove wood porch floor on a stuccoed foundation. Wrought iron columns and railings to be removed and replaced with square wood columns with beveled trim at top and bottom and a railing of flat sawn wood balusters, to reflect designs provided in application from 1910 Sears Roebuck catalogue and on comparable houses in district.
One-and-one-half story frame residence with a hip and gable roof clad in asphalt shingles, an exterior of vinyl siding, and a brick masonry foundation. Front gable features partial cornice returns. One-story, two-bay front porch with wrought iron columns and balustrade. Replacement vinyl windows. Interior central brick chimney.
1. 2328 Jefferson Ave is a contributing structure to the Park City National Register Historic District and the Edgewood-Park City local overlay.
2. The application includes several scopes of work aimed at removing non-historic materials and modifications and restoring original features and materials. The removal of non-historic vinyl siding and non-historic vinyl windows meets the design guidelines. The applicant will use similar adjacent properties, existing trim details on an enclosed rear porch, and existing trim previously covered by the vinyl siding as a reference for any new wood siding and new wood trim surrounding windows, entry, gable field, etc.
3. The replacement of one-over-one, double-hung wood windows with wood trim meets the design guidelines. The proposed replacement window on the front porch matches a similar window on an adjacent property and a Sears Roebuck catalogue from 1910. If the applicant is unable to find a window in the submitted design, a 1/1 double-hung wood window would also be appropriate.
4. The porch reconstruction will not expand the existing footprint or modify the roofline. Removing the concrete porch floor (a porch floor material discouraged by the design guidelines) and replacing with wood tongue-and-groove flooring on a stuccoed foundation is appropriate.
5. The porch work also includes the removal of non-historic wrought iron columns and railing and installation of wood materials. The dimensions and design of the proposed square wood columns with simple trim at the top and bottom will reflect those on an adjacent, comparable house.
6. A unique element included in the application is a flat sawn balustrade, shown in a c.1910 Sears Roebuck catalogue provided by the applicant. There are not historic photographs showing the balustrade on the original house. The catalogue does date to the house's approximate period of construction, and other examples of this railing do exist in historic districts in Knoxville, especially on slightly larger/more high-style houses in Fourth and Gill and Edgewood-Park City.
7. Building code requires a railing to be 36" tall minimum when the foundation height is 30" tall or over. The specs included in the Sears Roebuck catalogue describe the individual balusters at 20" or 24" tall. The applicant could modify the design of the balusters, install a double rail at the top to make up the difference, or select a more simple square picket design; the Commission should discuss these options.
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