Static Overview

This is the story of a very special house that has seen a lot of changes since it was built in 1914.  Our company, Dovetail Construction, has been in the business of high performance and sustainable renovation since 1987.  The scope of the renovation is in fact “monumental” and it actually sits on the renowned Monument Avenue in Richmond, VA.  The house was originally built for William Schwarzchild and designed by the architect D. Wiley Anderson.  It went from being a single family residence to the home of the Senior Center of Richmond thanks to the hard work from the ladies of the Junior League of Richmond.  As progress is made to take the house back to it’s original use as a single family home, we are fortifying it with the best resources, and technology available to make it last at least another 100 years.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Framing the New Balcony

Here is the fascade at the front of the house where the original balcony was. Original built-in gutters were rotten and leaking so new built-in gutters need to be part of the balcony plan.  Notice the Indiana limestone columns and how the brick underneath the old balcony is pretty much of a mess with remnants of tar. The gutter downspout was actually inside the stone column, not a good detail as a rule... It was also interesting to note that in many situations as a function of cost, brick that wouldn't be seen was red rather than the buff color of most of the exterior. 



Bracing is in place as necessary and it's time to start rebuilding.  Matt is working on installing the ceiling joists on top of the new laminated beam which holds the great majority of the structural load. The new ceiling joists are made out of pressure treated lumber as an extra precaution to ward off damage from moisture and pests.  Rot in the future should be dramatically mitigated.  Bring on the next movie casting call! 






Here is Bruce contemplating the next move. 
He looks like he would be great at yoga too.



Some more implentation...


and "wa la" a thing of beauty and high performance in the making.  The water will be drained away from the house, outside of the stone columns, cascading through new copper built-in gutters that are works of art in their own right. The new balcony will be able to bear the weight of any film crew that cared to stage a scene on it without increased insurance premiums.








It is a great exercise in pre-meditation and application...

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