Bob visits Cape Cod with Dick Wills, who is carrying on the work of his father, architect Royal Barry Wills. Beginning in the 1920s, the senior Wills popularized traditional New England-style architecture. According to his son, he was so impressed by the scale and proportion that our forefathers maintained that he dedicated his considerable energies to adapting those elements for modern families. Along with the traditional Colonial, Wills also appreciated the qualities of the New England Cape, a style that is simpler and generally smaller than the Colonial. Dick Wills takes Bob on a tour around his own Cape-style home, pointing unique architectural features that highlight the flexibility of the style.
Steve Nott of Steve Nott and Son Carpentry reviews the steps involved in installing the window shutters. The old shutter has been removed as it had fallen into a state of disrepair and might use lead paint. New shutters from J&L Shutters were used as replacements. The shutters are made from Permex, a synthetic material, and are pre-painted with a ten-year warranty. The shutters also have metal reinforcement through the stiles and historic-style hinges. The hinge section has already been attached to the shutter and the hinge pin is attached to the window casing. The shutter is a working shutter and can be closed to protect windows during a storm. Measurements for the screw holes have already been made. A pilot hole is then drilled into the wood. Pilot holes are important because drilling a screw into the wood without one can weaken the wood. Once the pins are in, the shutter is put into place. The shutter dog is then installed at the bottom to hold the shutter in an open position. First, the shutter dog is put in position and marked on the wall. A hole is then drilled into the stucco using a masonry bit. After the stucco is penetrated, the bit is switched to a standard bit to drill into the sheathing underneath. The use of the old-style hinges retains the historic appeal of the home. These shutters are resistant to rot and will last a long time.
The last stop on Bob Vila�s Berkshire Hills cottage tours is the largest shingle style home in America, the Elm Court mansion built by William Douglas Sloane and Emily Vanderbilt Sloane in 1886. Elm Court will play host to the final three Bob Vila�s Home Again episodes this season. Over the years it has had some adaptive reuse but no outright conversions and remains a family home. It began as a 17,000 square foot home but is now 70,000 square feet in size. The house has been occupied by as many as 70 family members. Its current owner, the great-great grandson of the original owners, has started a painstaking restoration of the home to make it both livable and useful for the community.
Bob talks with Dean Stewart of Woodport Doors about the interior door being installed. The door is a four-panel contemporary door with mission sticking, commonly referred to as a Shaker-style door. The door features an engineered-wood core with a birch-veneer face. Since it was not clear if the homeowner wanted to stain or paint the door, birch was selected because of its versatility. The engineered wood is a high-density material, making the door stabler and resistant to problems like warping.
New Wayne-Dalton Carriage Doors are installed in the garage. These Equestrian style doors are made of medium density fiberboard, with a Cedar overlay. Dave Colette from Doorworks talks Bob through the installation, which includes attaching the hardware, putting up the tracks, and securing the door panels.
Setting the stage for his 21st century Colonial project, Bob discusses the current trend toward exurban living and the renewed popularity of the Center Entry Colonial. The original Colonial-style homes where built by the colonists before the American Revolution. They regained favor in the 1870s at the time of the Centennial and again in the 1930s as people realized the importance of preserving the country's antique homes, and yet again during the Bicentennial. Salient characteristics include a pitched roof, central chimney, evenly placed windows right under the roofline, shutters, and, of course, a center entry.
Bob takes us to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to tour Naumkeag, a wonderful example of the grand Shingle Style by Stanford White. Bob studies the ornate detail of the house and discusses its architectural features.
For our final visit to the Charleston project, we take a grand tour of the elegant, restored Federal-style mansion, focusing on the portico and back fa?ade.
Bob checks in with artist Polly Forcier from MB Historic Decor to get an update on some of the home's decorative painting. Forcier is working on a Colonial-style mural inspired by the work of Rufus Porter, an itinerant painter from the 19th century. Forcier has chosen the dining area just outside the sunroom as the location for her mural. The natural sunlight pouring through the windows serves as a reference point for the highlights in her mural. She uses charcoal to outline the mural's design and then begins painting. For the details, such as the scene's houses and trees, Forcier uses a series of nine stencil overlays. To apply the paint, Polly uses a special stenciling brush employing a rotating stroke rather than stippling the paint on.
In the sunroom, Bob appraises Polly Forcier's traditional Shaker-style landscape wall mural, giving it high marks for the Colonial-themed home. A final look at the walls in the parlor reveals more intricate stencil work. Artisan Ken Forcier has completed the application of a reproduction stencil pattern that was originally found in an early 19th-century Vermont farmhouse.
