Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H-1: Level II

7-H-12-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Replacement/repair

Install new 8-inch dia. wooden tapered porch columns to match original in place of currently installed temporary posts. The Roman Doric-style column base and scrolled capital in the "Scamozzi" style are proposed to be polyurethane, as supplied by HB&G Permacast.

Install new wood balustrade at front porch to meet height as required by code, with bottom plate to be 4 inches from porch floor. Balusters are proposed to be approximately 2 -1/2-inch turned and installed at approximately 5 inches inches on center. Top rail to have applied 1/4-inch round moulding.

Site Info

One-and-a-half-story frame. Hip roof with lower cross gables and hipped dormer on front elevation. One-story front and side wrap-around porch with round wood columns with Ionic capitals, sawn wood balustrade, shed roof with gabled roof at northt end. One-over-one double-hung windows. Brick foundation. Rectangular plan.

STAFF FINDINGS:

1) The original porch columns and balustrade were removed and disposed of at an earlier date unknown to the staff and applicant. However, the porch columns are documented in a c.1992 survey file photo as being tapered round wood columns with Doric-style bases and Ionic-scrolled capitals.

2) Samples of the Ionic-scrolled capitals remain, although the cementious material from which they were fabricated at some early date have deteriorated. The later cementious material indicates that the capitals are not original.

3) The c. 1992 survey file photo indicates square balusters; however, the 1985 survey file description describes the balustrade as being of sawnwork, which is characterized by a one-dimensional cut-out design and is often very distinctive.

4) No known photo-documentation exists on the actual design of the sawnwork balustrade.

5) Academic architecture manuals indicate that turned balusters are appropriate for this style of house. Since no documentation exists on the design of the sawnwork, staff believes that the turned balusters are an appropriate alternative.

6) The capitals and bases on wood porch columns are the first areas where rot appears and must be more frequently replaced or repaired than the columns themselves.

7) Staff could not confirm that polyurethane column capitals and bases have been approved in similar situations within the district, but painted aluminum column plinth bases have been approved in 4th and Gill.

8) The cementious material from which the earlier capitals were fabricated to simluate plaster has been found over time to be an undesireable material to utilize since it is not very durable.

9) The proposed polyrurethane material is moulded as is plaster rather than cast as are fiberglass components. Moulded materials replicate plaster more closely than do cast materials

10) Staff contends that, once painted, the polyurethane column capitals and bases will adequately replicate the same wooden or cementious elements. Athough the form and shape of the bases and capitals are a very important detail, they are a relatively small part of the overall porch design size-wise; therefore, the material of which they are made is more difficult to visually discern as viewable from the right-of-way.


FOURTH AND GILL DESIGN GUIDELINES p. 12:
. . .These individual [porch] details should be repaired and preserved, or replicated if good documentation of the original porch exists. Properly proportioned porches are important to new buildings constructed in Fourth and Gill, helping new construction blend better with the neighborhood.

Porch Guideline Recommendations:
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.

4. In new construction, the proportion of the porches to the front facades should be consistent with the historic porches in the neighborhood. Details such as columns, posts, piers, balustrades and porch flooring must use materials that present a visually and physically appropriate appearance historically.