Architecture Company Serving Darien, Ridgefield, Madison & New Canaan, CT

This was a preservation of a collapsing 1928 masonry and millwork porch. We removed the cast stone steps, to be reused, and before removing the columns we installed a beam to hold up the porch roof. With the stones removed, you can see the structural failure of the brick base and the rotten column shafts and bases. After the columns were removed, we demolished and rebuilt the brick base with new concrete foundations. The hand-carved columns were removed, cut in half and restored offsite with parts of the shafts rebuilt. Both had new bases and capital repairs, along with new interior repairs with bracing and structures. The restored columns were reinstalled over steel columns to eliminate loads on the columns and the steel beam was removed. The old stone steps, borders and wing wall caps were cleaned and reinstalled over new foundations walls, each stone returned back into its original location. From there, we created a new porch paving with matching brownstone, along with new bases to precisely match existing special woods for water protection. The original hardware was removed and restored, in addition to the warped and broken leaded glass panels being removed and rebuilt, and lastly repainting the front elevation. By saving and restoring the original materials, we preserved the Character, History and Meaning of the House. This was in the Spring and Summer of 2020 during COVID-19.

Contact David D. Harlan Architects today to learn more about our preservation and restoration services in Litchfield & New Haven, CT.