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Final Tour of the Federal-Style Home

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.
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Final Tour of the Federal-Style Home

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" This great color on the facade would this have been an authentic federal style. -- and we think many federal house will break brazen whites were common. Well I tell you really highlight being the the detailing out solidly collaborative. Pretty much original right that's beating clapboard is. Except -- that we had to repair with the old I can't tell with a repair was. Tell me something what do you do about that window up there at the shutter in the bracket. And it looks a little bit well it's it's a difficult thing to deal with because the bracket with the original and we know that the house had shutters. But in the federal period and as and most of colonial era they use the shutters to control light and also protect the weather's so. Often the shutters were probably close partially. To keep the sunlight from coming in the house that we're used to seeing shutters on a colonial and always open right period but. In real life back then they would have been open and shut than some would have been totally shut -- not right to a probably can't them a little bit him in and what's going on down here with that with the Stucco in this tan -- wealth Stucco in Charleston as the most days it was always made to look like sandstone. We've come up with a line watch that's replicating at sandstone from the period. Then after it's been watched now coming back and scoring in where the mortar joints would be and that's what Bob he's working on our actually. Laying out stone box and now we'll probably have come back with some more watches yeah but this would have been probably what was here. -- this is the -- watch that you put on the Stucco ride it's. Simply just like a white box with color and attitude there's line as the pigment such as oak or when the iron oxides to give it the color so it's something that's easily done today that rarely talk a minute that's right. It's a -- love disgraceful Charleston staircases -- their case that really sets off the house yeah. Designing the portico was a challenge what it was we tried to get the scale right and we we try to look at whole pattern books and different designs of building through this period. If the parent that's right. And get the height in the the -- of the the scale as the most important thing but here on the inside it created a feeling that's very decorative. Right would this there's a federal period house and we look back to the Adam's Brothers and England to get designs that is that this would. It actually in a pattern book and Adams in this pattern book. And created a lot of plywood boards molding and of course you have to know that around that but pretty simple elements but altogether really make a nice design area now what are these -- here on the deck."

" Well. These columns we had -- unfortunately we were missing. The basis these are solid pine -- original columns from the proper rise and some of the basis. We're destroyed so we had to replicate them and that can be done in several ways threats that easiest way to do it was to make a profile. Of the actual base. And then. Build a form that the profile could swing and how did you get to perform well actually just took a five gallon -- and cut -- section that and it. And then took a simple here engine attached to this profile so this will swing. And you can see it cuts the arc. Yeah and then by using so that's creating the mold basically right beneath the negative of the base and then we. The simply poor auto body filler you can see some of it here in the mold and it makes the perfect piece. Announced it would fit you know right. In this area around the column."

" Now you can really see the difference between degree and a wide -- but thought it. Personal quality feeling back here where there's still work in practice -- more depth yeah. Tell me about this brick is this from the site we we took these from the front porch here that we had dismantled then -- We've cleaned them and we're reusing them for the back elevation for the foundation and -- brick is the typical Charleston. Brick right out for these are called old English cricket Charleston and they were an English side yeah. And so this entire wall -- all the black in there which is just felt paper will be filled in with that break right getting Britain Def now buried next to the back facade of the house. In his room. All construction it is hurricane Hugo destroyed what was here. Right and we as we know that it dated from a later part in the center right. But we've given it kind of a real traditional look that could be federal period could be later we the same number of windows that you see on the front with the central doorway and it follows the central hall all the way through the house. And then -- arched window up the top. It's -- the centerpiece for the back is that off the shelf -- Now major damper on -- and we had withers industries the millwork firm make this action their shop night. And here you see where we're putting in the back staircase. We will be a wooden stairs will be a wooden staircase but we're gonna flared at the bottom so that it has a nice little federal the pail yes and it'll. Keep the same railings coming on down. -- real -- yet. And then of course the porch itself we'll all be screened screen civil service really a room on the back of the house right off the kitchen great place to take lunch."

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