House Painting Inspection after two years on historic registry Home
Hello, I’m on a paint inspection. This is our two-year inspection. It’s been about two-and-a-half years since we painted this building. It’s a 1910-built home; 7200 sq. ft. It’s on the National Historic Registry.
Two years is a good time to take a look at our paint job. We did extensive restorative work on this home…a lot of the wood was pretty damaged. And, I’m interested to see how it’s held up and take care of anything that may need taking care of. So, let’s have a closer look.
One of the greatest concerns for the customer on this project was that, as much as possible, we take care of the damaged wood on the house while maintaining as much of the original wood as possible. So here, at the very peak, we actually used a lot of System 3 Wood Epoxy on the fascia board. From the ground level, it looks like it’s held up pretty well. It’s clearly a dark color, which is a challenge – not so much for the paint failing, but you know, for color fading, etc. But right now, it looks pretty darn good from the ground.
We’re here on the front porch. When we had originally done this job, these posts had been problematic over the years. It’s primarily because there’s standing water when it rains here in Seattle on this concrete. The wood was acting like a sponge, so we replaced these original wood posts with cellular PVC and painted it with a Color Safe cut product from Sherwin Williams.
Cellular PVC polyvinyl chloride is a plastic made to emulate wood. It is used in construction for siding, trim, and decking. Cellular PVC is made from a whipped form of PVC, creating a material that is significantly lighter and more durable than wood, while maintaining a similar look and feel. The smooth surface of PVC is non-porous and impenetrable by water.
This is specially designed for cellular PVC. After two years, they look exactly the same as the day we painted them. We replaced the wood posts with cellular PVC. I’m coming to look at how it’s holding up and so far, the paint’s holding up, the cellular PVC is holding up well – I think it’s exactly what we had expected to see after a couple of years and, we’ll be back next spring to take a look at it again.
A few years ago, this was a troubled area. Looks like our paint’s held up, besides a little bit of dirt, it’s exactly how we expected it to look. We’ll be back to look at it on a yearly basis. Paint’s help up, all the sealant at the water entry points have held up.
This is the back side of the same house. This mud room/sun room area – we had done extensive carpentry repairs on the fascia board, and I’m coming to take a look at it. So far, so good. By the way, historic homes are typically painted in historic colors.
Historical Preservation Society of Seattle Registered home. Restored to Glory 2010.
Seattle Historic Preservation Society
The Seattle Historic Preservation Society is dedicated to preserving King County’s and Seattle’s architectural history and legacy. Founded in 1974, it is the only nonprofit membership committed to Seattle’s preservation. The program is accountable for the protection of over 400 historic sites, structures, objects, and vessels within the seven historic districts throughout Seattle. The group advocates for preservation by encouraging developers, policy makers and citizens to think about their historic buildings’ value; after all, their mission is to “educate, advocate, and preserve.”
The commitment to historic preservation by the city of Seattle began in the 1960s. The organization blocked the demolition of several buildings beloved by Seattle residents and proposed “Urban Renewal” plans, the purpose of which was to destroy much of downtown’s Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. The Seattle City Council secured Pioneer Square’s legacy in 1970 by deeming it the city’s first historic preservation district; voters approved an initiative for the Pike Place Market historic district two years later. By 1973, the Seattle City Council signed off on a Landmarks Preservation Ordinance to protect historic and architecturally significant properties around the city. This saves over 400 structures and sites, from the Ward House (the oldest standing residence), to the Space Needle.
Since 1970, there have been seven established historic districts: Ballard Avenue, Fort Lawton, Columbia City, Harvard-Belmont, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, and the International District. Within said districts, the historical integrity and appearance and public spaces are managed by a “citizens board and/or the Landmarks Preservation Board in accordance with processes and criteria established by City ordinance.”
The Historic Society offers a wide range of educational programs every year, not only to their members, but also to the general public. The Society will open up private homes to members and offer free looks to the public of both public and private major properties at their quarterly membership meetings; give lectures, in-city and out-of-town tours with “how-to” presentations; and hold special events. They also produce the annual Building Renovation Fair.
A typical member of the Society has an interest in design styles and periods, architecture, neighborhoods, travel, history, advocacy, preservation, and renovation and repair of older houses. Some of these programs attract visitors around the country and even in Canada.
Historic Seattle is active in many educational outreach programs as well, and this is the most visible of all their outreach efforts. Educational events bring in new members and contributors. The Society relies on its leased properties, contributions, memberships, and ticket sales to further its mission, with events as their major development focus. Events are were valuable promotion and networking takes place. They’re also fun, with good food, drinks, conversations, and presentations.
More information on the The Seattle Historic Preservation Society can be found online, at http://www.historicseattle.org/.
Scaffolding, Seattle House Painting, Shearer Painting, National Register of historic places from John Q. Shearer on Vimeo.
