1791 Federal

Location:  Providence , RI

Date Completed: Active

This building is a fascinating example of early large, town house configurations, complete with entertainment rooms and servants quarters. The house has every system since the house was built, plumbing, electrical, heating, etc.  Coal chutes, sub-basements for furnaces, under floor heating and every period of plumbing, electric and heating since the systems were invented, some still functioning in the house.  HRI’s challenge for the 2 10,000 square foot adjoining houses was to visually deconstruct the systems and determine how, what and when each part should or could be upgraded.  HRI has begun to address some of the exterior maintenance issues, as well as redesign spaces for more modern needs and conveniences.

 

LeRoy King House

Location:  Newport, RI

Date Completed: Active

The LeRoy King House is a McKim, Meade and White built in 1885, featuring a brick, granite slate and pebbledash exterior, and a grand central oak hallway and staircase.  The house was originally conceived as a classic shingle style, although prior to construction, a decision was made to use more substantial materials.  HRI was originally contacted to restore 97 windows for function and finish, although the project expanded to include the manufacturing and installation of several more sash and interior storm windows.  HRI also assisted in repairing and refinishing the floors back to their original grandeur.

 

1750 3/4 Federal

Location:  Newport, RI

Date Completed: 1/21/08

This 1750 3/4 Federal is a typical downtown Newport house, with close proximity to its neighbors and a style uniquely Newport. The main elevation and a side is beaded clapboards, while the remaining house is shingled. HRI was contracted to retrofit the kitchen, redo an elevation of clapboards, design a stiing room with a 49 pane window, dutch door, built in bookshelves and a series of pocket doors to seperate the kitchen from the sitting room. The project was a challenge since the spaces and final design was not fully known except for rough plans and scope, allowing HRI to design as the project progressed.

 

The Foundry- Browne and Sharpe

Location:  Providence, RI

Date Completed: 9/22/07

Learn about Brown and Sharpe History at http://www.artinruins.com/arch/redevelop/brownsharpe/. HRI was contracted during this final phase of rehabilitation to restore 34 original mill building double hung windows, measuring 5' x 10', with 24 over 24 panes. HRI completed the full window frame repair and refinishing, as well as stripping down all of the sash, removing the glaze, resetting and glazing the glass and refinishing. HRI reinstalled the sash to their full original glory.

 

1870 Italianate

Location:  Providence, RI

Date Completed: 7/13/07

This 3 story house suffered from terrible neglect and some really, really bad decisions. It was a mess. There were holes cut in the roof for a thrid story open garden, that drained from a tarp, through a PVC pipe and seemingly out of the house. The drain did not quite work and rotted two stories of framing. There was rot in a wall, so the previous owner/mason decided to build a brick wall inside the wood frame to help stabilize it. There were stairs barely together. There were chimneys relying on the frame to stand up. The house took about 15-30 yard dumpsters to empty the useless contents. The original frame was underbuiolt and all required shuring. The basement required 26 new footings. After 14 weeks of stabilization, jacking, dismantling and reconstruction, Mike Robinson and the crew completed a job most people would run away from. And all of this to save a footprint, because once it was torn down, it could not be rebuilt.

 

1750 Tavern

Location:  Chepachet, RI

Date Completed: 9/06

This project required Heritage to complete a variety of building repairs. This phase was meant to correct water leaks behind and around all four of the chimneys. The leaks occured from an improper "Cricket" or water diverter, as well as some improper side flashing and counterflashing. HRI partially removed the existing wood roof shingles and reweaved in new shingles with the proper flashing.

 

1817 Federal

Location:  Providence, RI

Date Completed: April 2007, Phase 1 & 2 Complete

This National Register private home has seen its share of change through the years, with each modification balancing the original design integrity with more contemporary features. The interior and exterior are rather modest, with a simple elegance to the fenestrations and interior moldings. The house was moved to the current location in 1870, where the foundation and chimneys were replaced, and a new 25' x 35' two story kitchen ell was added. The floor plan of the original house was modified, converting the original four room plan into a single sitting room 20' x 40', with fireplaces on either side, and the other side of the hall becoming a dining room and library. Also, in the sitting room has two double french doors with gracious fan lights above. In 1870 the exterior was stuccoed over the original clapboard siding, where subsequent repairs to the stucco in the 1920's added reinforced wire mesh and a hard portland mix, while all along retaining the original siding underneath.

HRI was contracted to repair, restore and modify slightly the exterior. The primary elevations remain unchanged, yet the house now has a new roof, a restored/reconstructed main and upper roof monitor railings, stripped and restored windows and frames, a restored front door and surround and new shutters. The rear ell stucco was removed and the original siding restored and repainted. Other portions of the work included a new kitchen, master bedroom, bathrooms, a new third floor stairway, private entertainment room, master closet, refinished floors and some minor floor plan changes. The true intent is to maintain the simple elegance that the house has possessed since it was built over 190 yeas ago.