629 North Lafayette Boulevard_AA 2020-0819A

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My great-grandfather bought this house in the 1970s and it has been an important part of my family for my entire life. When I took over ownership of the house in 2019, my goal was to preserve and restore as much of the original historic elements of the house as I could--starting with the exterior. Throughout the renovation, I made it my mission to diligently restore the house to its original form, without cutting corners or making quick fixes. As time consuming and tedious as it was, the original pine floors, original decorative wood trim around doorways, and original door knobs and locks have all been completely restored after over 100 years of various paint layers and thick stains. While the exterior was certainly the largest renovation project, my mission remained. From the oldest photographs I have of the house, I initially thought the original exterior underneath the current blue vinyl siding was brick. Upon further inspection, what I thought was brick was really faux brick siding, and the true original exterior was wood siding. The original exterior lays buried under a layer of faux brick, nailed and glued to the wood siding; yellow insulation wrap, nailed to the faux brick and wood siding; and then the current blue vinyl siding. While the restoration of the wood siding was a major consideration for my home renovation, it ultimately became a dream that fell outside my budget. With the labor associated with removing the non-original exteriors, removing all nails, and properly restoring the wood siding without causing more damage to the original exterior, the total costs of that option were just too high (see attached A&M estimate). After much thought and consideration, I opted for an in-kind replacement to the existing exterior siding, designed to match the original wood siding laps while staying consistent with the style of other homes in the Chapin Park district. However, the restoration of the original wood siding remains my eventual goal. As such, I worked with my contractor to select a strong, premium, weather-resistant vinyl material that would not only match the home aesthetic, but also more effectively preserve the original wood siding than the current exterior. After nearly 50 years of being an integral part of my family's history, I am excited to restore the true beauty of this house, and I know that my great-grandfather is proud of how this house has transformed.