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I., <br />STAFF REPORT <br />CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A <br />CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS <br />tate: 28 November 2016 <br />Application Number: 2016-1128A <br />Property Location: 511 West Colfax <br />Architectural Style/Date/Architect or Builder: Tudor Revival/l898Birdsell House/Wilson Parker, Archt. <br />Property Owner: Steve Mihaljevic/Anisah Michael <br />Landmark or District Designation: Local Landmark/West Washington St. National Register Historic Dist. <br />Rating: Outstanding <br />DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE/ SITE: The wood frame house has field stone veneer facade on the <br />first floor, second floor is brick veneer, gable ends of house are Tudor -style Half timbers. The foundation <br />is concrete and stone and the half-timbering in the gables. Wood windows are diamond patterned 4/1. <br />Verandah is supported with stone columns with ornate capitals. The porte cochere has a hipped roof. <br />ALTERATIONS: Original roof has been replaced with asphalt shingles. COA 2000-0316 approved a <br />wrought fence around the property, and a rear yard chain link fence was approved with COA 2001-0129, <br />although neither of these fences were installed. COA 2008-0604A approved reconstruction of chimney. <br />RME 2016-0825A approved repair of five original double hung windows in second story south and third <br />story south. COA 2016-1018 to replace the existing asphalt shingle house roof and metal front porch and <br />porte cochere roofs with standing -seam copper was denied. <br />APPLICATION ITEMS: Replacing all roof surfaces with new copper sheeting. <br />4ESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT: This is a reapplication for COA 2016-1018. Owner <br />proposes to install new standing -seam copper roof with copper drip edge, copper valley, edge trim and <br />flashings on entire house, including front porch and porte cochere. Historic photos show the original <br />house roof to be flat clay tile, and the Portage Township Assessor's card lists a tile roof in 1935. The <br />original porch and porte cochere roofs, as well as gutters and accents which still exist, are painted metal; <br />the original house roof was replaced with asphalt shingles. Group B Standards say the proposed treatment <br />should be reviewed for "character and style consistency with the original surfaces." The National Park <br />Service's Preservation Brief 4 on roofs says "if the roof is readily visible ... material should match as <br />closely as possible the scale, texture, and coloration of the historic roofing material." Historically, <br />copper roofs were used on important buildings in the early 1800s, then infrequently until the latter 19th <br />century when copper became more accessible. Even then, it was used most frequently for ornamental <br />roofs on public buildings. (National Park Service, Roofing for Historic Buildings, Metals) The owner has <br />selected copper for the roof material in an effort to match the original roof materials that remain, as well <br />as for its durability. <br />PRESERVATION SPECIALIST REPORT: <br />Upon request made by Deputy Director Deb Parcell, I am writing an analysis of the roof in its current <br />condition. The current roof material is asphalt shingles on the main house and metal raised -seamed <br />roofing on the front porch and porte-cochere. Several patches and alternative coverings are in place in <br />multiple locations where the asphalt roof has begun to roll up and deteriorate. From the interior of the <br />house water damage is evident on the southeast, northeast, and southwest corners. A large area on the <br />northeast has the most significant damage. The exterior patches and correlating interior damage would <br />suggest that an inspection should take place to identify any necessary roof deck repairs or replacement <br />that should take place prior to installation of any new roofing material. <br />Steve Szaday, Preservation Specialist <br />