Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H-1: Level II

6-B-20-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Major repair or replacement of materials or architectural elements

After-the-fact review of alterations to outbuilding. Large tree stump at southeast corner of outbuilding has contributed to deterioration of the outbuilding's brick wall. Applicant has removed left (south) half of exterior brick walls and supported existing roof with six square wood columns (four 6" x 6" wood columns and two 4" x 4" wood columns, all unfinished wood beams). Applicant has installed a new exterior wall and a barn-style sliding door, along with painting sections of the masonry outbuilding. Project also includes the construction of a wood deck on top of the existing outbuilding floor and installation of gutters.

Conditions identified at 6/18/2020:
1) Wood porch ceiling to be installed and painted
2) Cover exposed brackets on the columns
3) Paint the columns
4) Repair/re-install soffits behind gutters

Site Info

One-and-one-half-story residence with a hipped roof clad in asphalt shingles and an exterior of fiber cement board siding. Hipped porch supported by squared columns is centered on the façade. Hipped-roof dormer with two casement windows centered on façade roof slope.

Structure under review is a side-gable, brick masonry outbuilding to the rear of the property.

1. The outbuilding at 1009 Gratz Street is dated to 1969 on the property tax assessor's website. However, the load-bearing masonry construction and the 2/2 horizontal pane windows indicate somewhat earlier construction, most likely in the 1950s. Verification of the outbuilding's date via historic aerials is challenged by the presence of the large tree, the stump of which caused structural deterioration of the outbuilding.

2. The outbuilding is not an outbuilding original to the Fourth and Gill Historic District, though it has reached the 50-year threshold. Modifications to the outbuilding do not detract from the historic integrity of the primary house, or from the district.

3. Review of this work is after-the-fact; the applicant has removed half of the carriage house, responding to the masonry deterioration on the outbuilding's southeast corner. The footprint of the outbuilding has not been expanded. The applicant has created a porch space on the south half of the outbuilding, using unfinished wood beams and wood decking above the existing concrete floor.

4. Guidelines recommend that secondary structures should demonstrate a size, construction, and materials that correspond to the original primary buildings on the lot. Guidelines also note that porches should be employ details such as columns, posts, piers, and flooring that present a visually appropriate appearance for the historic context. Though these guidelines apply primarily to houses, the intent is to present a consistent appearance throughout the property.

5. Due to the placement of the outbuilding directly behind the primary house, only the south half (new porch location) of the outbuilding is visible from the primary right-of-way. While adding unnecessary embellishments to the outbuilding porch is not necessary, some additional finishes would aid in improving the visual effect of the porch from the public right-of-way, including obscuring the exposed metal fasteners with a simple wood cornice, painting the beams, or better aligning the columns so that they are equidistant and actually placed in the corners, as shown in the rendering