Tag Archive for: restoration

Restoring History 20

Hard to believe it has been nine years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast. Lives, property and a huge piece of our history was lost in one fail swoop on that tragic August day. However, with every disaster, stories of triumph emerge. Goodwin was proud to be part of one of those triumphant “stories”.

The historic Charnley-Norwood house, designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, was literally torn apart by Hurricane Katrina. However, in 2013, the entire structure was restored to its original beauty. Architect Larry Albert specified Goodwin Company to supply antique wood for the restoration. We provided 800sf of River-Recovered® Curly Heart Pine T&G V-joint paneling, and 1000sf of 3-1/4″ Legacy (building reclaimed) heartpine T&G flooring.

We would like to share the short documentary, By the Hand of the Unseen Poet by Ellis Anderson.

Learn more at: http://www.savemyplacems.com/listing/charnley-norwood-house/

As an additional note, this project received a 2014 Heritage Award for Preservation Education. We were honored to be part of restoring this important piece of our nation’s history!

How to Remove a Wax Finish and Recoat with Water-Based Poly

It’s always heartwarming to be able to help a client who purchased a floor from us over 20 years ago. George and Cyndi Watkins wanted to take the wax finish off their River Recovered® Heart Pine floors, then stain and coat them with a water-based polyurethane. The Watkins are discerning clients who know what they […]

Historic Renovation Receives “Green” Restoration Accolades 2

Gainesville Depot Recognized

by Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.

(GAINESVILLE, FL) — One of the City of Gainesville’s oldest, most cherished buildings – the historic Gainesville Depot – will receive an “Outstanding” recognition in the Restoration/Rehabilitation category at the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc. (FTHP) annual awards ceremony.  The event, scheduled for May 17th from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm, will be held at the Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College.

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Charnley-Norwood House 14

We all know the damage hurricanes can cause. While any devastation is tragic, it is especially disheartening when a historical site suffers extreme destruction. Such was the case with the Charnley-Norwood House in Mississippi, which sustained excessive damage during Hurricane Katrina. Chicago lumber-baron James Charnley commissioned two of America’s most famed architects, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, to design his prominent vacation residence. This iconic 1890s masterpiece is said to exemplify a watershed in residential design that re-shaped 20th century residential architecture.

Every effort needed to be taken to restore this important part of architectural and American history. Esteemed Architect Larry Albert of Hattiesburg, MS took on the challenge of reconstructing this Sullivan-Wright masterpiece. You can imagine the excitement and honor we felt when we discovered Mr. Albert specified Goodwin’s Curly Heart Pine Paneling (with a custom V-Joint profile) for this very important project. Recreating and restoring a masterpiece is quite challenging, and Goodwin worked hand-in-hand with the entire building design team from start to finish.

recommended feed 001If you look closely in this photo, you can see the alternating sap and heart boards of curly in this cabinet. This is the nature of curly since it is often all sapwood, comprised of outer boards of only one (1) out of every 500 or so logs.

It was initially thought that the flooring in the home was not original because it had a back relief. We were able to demonstrate to the building design team that 125 years ago, they did kerf the backs to save on transportation cost. Wood flooring was simply very expensive to ship back then. There was also waxy paper under the original floor. We encouraged them to consider using Aquabar “B” by Fortifiber, one of several products with a bituminous layer between two layers of kraft paper. These products slow down the moisture movement from the crawl spaces where hot humid air cools off and introduces moisture into the flooring. Roofing felt does nothing to stop moisture movement and plastic traps it. Aquabar “B” has a permeance rating between the felt and the plastic. This prevents moisture from moving quickly and minimizes the possibility of cupping.

Greg Bingham of Ocean Springs Lumber visited the site with me. Ocean Springs Lumber also provided materials for this project.

Curly Heart Pine can be used in a variety of residential, historical and corporate settings. Call Goodwin today to discuss ways this beautiful wood can add distinction and character to your home, office or preservation project.

 

More about the Charnley-Norwood House:

Creating a Master’s Masterpiece 4

We are often posed with the question of how certain woods will adapt to a particular environment.  Climate change can present a challenge; however, a qualified installer will have no problem ensuring proper acclimation.  Our COO, Andrew St. James, Ph.D, is happy to explain:

“In the past, various time schedules have been the accepted standard for acclimation.  This included acclimation time onsite, and, at one point, there was even a specification for a certain amount of time in the general geographic area prior to installation.

Current best practice is to ensure the installation site, including subfloor, is at the correct moisture condition prior to your flooring delivery. Once you receive your flooring, measure several representative pieces of wood.  Proceed only when the wood has reached a moisture content near that which it will have during service.”

Are you an installer who would like to learn more about acclimation?  Feel free to contact us and we will be happy to discuss this with you further.  We also plan to offer National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) installation classes and a NWFA finish certifier test this year. We would love for you to become one of our esteemed installation professionals!

Restoring Antique Wood Floors

We recently had an inquiry asking if more finish can be added to an old site finished floor to improve its appearance. This is what we used to call a buff and coat.  Recoating will not remove deep scratches or discoloration in the wood, but is a good choice in many cases where the finish is sound and not overly worn. The surface of the existing finish is abraded lightly to get it ready for additional finish.  If there are contaminates on the wood floor such as wax, dusting products, polish, etc. the new coat may not adhere in some spots and total resanding may be a better choice. The major water based finish manufacturers make pretreatment products which aid adhesion. The water based finishes are easy to use if you know what you are doing and are used by many professionals.  If you are doing the work yourself many first time attempts do not come out as well with these products. You might consider using a more traditional urethane floor finish with a slower drying time. Once you get everything cleaned up and ready two coats often looks better than one on an old floor. A finish with a low gloss level tends to help surface imperfections blend in. If you are not going to use water borne finish the old way to abrade it was to rub the surface with fine steel wool.  Go with the grain of the wood floor. It is a good idea to test the compatibility of the finish you are using with the existing finish in a small out of the way area before doing the whole floor.  Also the National Wood Flooring Association http://www.woodfloors.org/ has information on finishes and maintenance.