Current Condition

---

This Eastlake Victorian was built in 1883 for Somers Pfeuffer.  The house has 14 foot ceilings and 4 ½ inch long leaf pine flooring throughout. Around the home’s 100th birthday the house was remodeled with a 300 sq feet addition which demolished the awning on the front of the house.  The original front porch seen in an old photo of the house was demolished and rebuilt with double columns topped with plaster Corinthian Greek scrolls.  Electricity was added with exposed conduit and window units for air-condition and heating.   There were multiple challenges with this house.  First was the electrical system which was visually unattractive and took away from the charm of the house.  The challenge here lied in the construction of the house.  All of the walls were constructed with wood studs.  All of the spaces between the studs were then filled with adobe brick and mortar.  On top of the brick on the interior was a layer of hay, animal hair and limestone followed by a finishing coat of plaster.  To accomplish an updated layout of the electrical system all of the conduit, light switches and outlets were removed.  Where current electricity was needed baseboards and door trim were removed in order to carve channels into the plaster and brick for the new wires to be run and switch and outlet boxes to be inserted.  Second challenge was to add 1000 sq feet to the house and make the addition look as if it is as old as the original house.  To accomplish this we purchased a molding machine to be able to recreate the bead board, door and window casing.  Special tools were also made to replicate the rosettes in the upper corners of the window and door casing.  In the entry hall, living room and kitchen fancy trim blocks were added at waist level of the trim when the house was originally built.  Redesign of the space added two more doorways in these locations.  To recreate these blocks we hand carved the new ones to match the old, as they were done in the day. The final large challenge was in the original windows.  When we purchased the house there were 60 broken panes of glass.  Through the years 23 panes had already been replaced with new glass.  Very few of the windows functioned properly in the house due to broken sash cords and sashes being painted shut.  All of the windows in the house were taken apart, scrapped of their many layers of paint and re-corded.  Where there was broken glass or new glass had been installed, those were removed and replaced with salvaged old glass.  For a grand total of 83 replaced panes of glass.  Every day the sun shines through the house the handmade glass cast a work of art on the walls and floors of the house. I have highlighted the largest of the challenges but there are so many more….  This was a 2 year remodel.