November 2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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immediate family issues to the exclusion of all else. It is very difficult to have a dying parent on the other side of the ocean. While Jeffrey Dierbeck continued to look for capital replacements, the existing capitals deteriorated further over the winter. Jeff could not find Scamozzi capitals of the correct size. They would need to be made in two halves in order to fit around the tops of the columns. Full Scamozzi capitals could only be installed by removing columns from the porch and jacking up the porch roof, a complicated and expensive task. (This was done back in 2002 when the porch roof and capitals were damaged by the falling tree. There was then no alternative as the porch was falling down anyway. That is why the one Peacock Scamozzi could be installed in that year.) Jeff obtained an estimate (included here) for 12" Scamozzi column tops from Classic Stairs and Trim on September 17 1h, 2004. These were, again, imitations — they were not ceramic. More than that, they didn't fit. It would have been necessary, as I've said, to rebuild them in order to install them around the columns in two halves or to remove the columns from the porch and jack up the roof. On July 11, 2005, I saw Wayne Doolittle taking photographs of the broken capital on the right pillar (as one faces the house). I had a conversation with Wayne on that day in which I explained the difficulty of locating something appropriate. He expressed sympathy and mentioned the possibility that he might himself have a piece or pieces which he could give us. He did not get back in touch about this. More importantly, he said nothing about the new ordinance or the necessity of filling in forms for the Historical Preservation Commission. As we knew nothing about either of these things, we continued to make plans on our own. Had Wayne at that time told us anything about the forms or the ordinance, we certainly would have complied with the requirements. But we knew nothing about either. In the end, we decided to replace the Scamozzi with Doric capitals. We made this decision only after looking at all of the other houses up and down Park Avenue, and especially at the two on either side of us, both of which have Doric capitals. It is worth mentioning that there is no evidence that Doric capitals were not originally used. We do not have, and I believe the Historical Commission does not have, any photographs of the porch before 1926, twenty years after the house was built. There have been many changes in the house over the years, including the addition of two full rooms at the back of the lot. The Scamozzi could have been added at any point before 1926. Eventually we decided to use 12" Tuscan column caps bought from Classic Stairs and Trim. The material is high density molded plastic, with wooden additions across the top. We found that the porch railing was also in a state of decay and so decided to reinforce and paint that at the same time. (Photographs are included with the application. Please see Invoice for work already done, $2,302.00. Please also see Invoice (estimate) for the cost of removing what has now been done and installing imitation Scamozzi instead: $4,353) Work on the porch re -commenced — again, it had really begun in fall, 2001 — in October 2005. It was clear we had to finish before winter as the columns, railings, and porch floor were rotting from water damage. By the time Wayne arrived again, on or about October