Finally I'm getting back to you. Bought a century old half cape on the
south shore of Boston. Turned out to be built in 1743. Am a retired
architect. If possible, get yourself a copy of Ramsey-Sleeper's
Architectural Graphic Standards from a used bookstore. Firstly DO NOT
APPLY TO REGISTER IT AS A HISTORICAL DWELLING. The assistance you'd
get for restoring it is not worth the controls or restrictions that
they impose. When I got my place, there were indications it was moved
to that site. All walls, ceilings were plumb. Floors were buckled,
about a fist deep in the center on one side of the building. The
original crawl space was furrowed out. I furrowed even more. Mounted
steel beams & posts about 2' in from the perimeter and jacked it 16"
higher. That way topsoil could be graded away from the house. The
original foundation was 2 channel fieldstone & brick. It was the only
dry (dirt flr) basement in neighborhood. I redid it the same way
replacing the middle tier with 1/2 thick masonry. In that way allowing
the 2 air chambers in the foundation wall acted as insulation. It kept
the visual of the house in tact. As a result of the jacking the floors
did pop back. That was good. It loosened the forged square nails for
reuse. Replaced the worn out subfloor. Numbering each floorboard as
it was removed. All floors were pumkin pine. When replace, were
caulked with 1/4" hemp. Walls were horsehair plaster. Replaced with
layered drywall to maintain same thickness. Insulated at the same
time. House was built in balloon construction: full dim studs from
plate to plate; 2nd floor joists were mirtised & tenoned. As a result
it was easy to run insulation from roof to foundation. I became a
familiar sight at all local building wrecking yards. At the same
time, Boston was developing the Government Center. I was involved in a
lot of that design. A GC(general contractor) had removed 2' of paving
in Beacon Hill. He found exterior hickory paving bricks. You know who
got most of them. When sliced, they became kitchen flooring & driveway
At the time of insulation, ran copper tubing for 2nd flr heating.
3-zone steam, mtl bsbd on 2nd; ci on 1st. Put in horizontal AC in
attic. Historical perservation would have not allowed any of it.
Original house was 39-7 front 37-9 d. Final was 39-7 f x 81-7 d.
Replaced 32 windows. Added 16x20 kitch, fmly rm, lndry, rear stairwell
& 2-car gar with apt over. Completed kitchen was horizontal recycled
redwood wainscoat. Original matchstick resquared became cabinets.
Cupboards were rescaled Tavern signs. Replaced rear central hall
(4-11w) wall with outswing french drs/sidelites. Front dr was
3-10x7-0. Added collonade across front of house; L shaped glassed in
pergola to inner back of house. It got a 9-circuit electrical system
and copper lines throughout. Except for the furnace, Ac, wh,
appliances, everything used on the house was used. The house was in
Architectural Record for the Bi-centennial.