{"id":413,"date":"2022-08-30T22:32:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T22:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/surewindows.com\/blog\/safeguarding-a-homes-legacy-in-atlanta\/"},"modified":"2022-08-30T22:32:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T22:32:32","slug":"safeguarding-a-homes-legacy-in-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surewindows.com\/blog\/safeguarding-a-homes-legacy-in-atlanta\/","title":{"rendered":"Safeguarding a Home\u2019s Legacy in Atlanta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very beneficial write-up from Nedra Rhone that’s loaded with knowledge with regard to window replacements. Suggestions pertaining to home owners trying to become more energy-efficient.<\/p>\n

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This article appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of This Old House Magazine. Click here to learn how to subscribe.<\/p>\n

Seven years ago, when she first glimpsed the bright-blue Folk Victorian in South Atlanta, Kysha Hehn walked away in something of a trance. Built in the 1890s, the house had been unoccupied for decades and had fallen into disrepair, but Kysha couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that it was special. \u201cThere was something about the house,\u201d she says. \u201cI wondered about its past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left<\/strong>: Vacant for several decades, the house suffered significant water intrusion. The Folk Victorian retains original Queen Anne elements, including bay windows<\/a>, decorative shingles, and a full-width front porch. Right<\/strong>: Kysha and Jonathan Hehn, with their children Alivia Sage (left) and Joia, are bringing new life to the 1890s house built by South Atlanta\u2019s first postmaster. <\/p>\n

Steve Dietl<\/p>\n

Kysha and her husband, Jonathan, along with their two children, Alivia Sage, now 12, and Joia, 10, soon learned that the house was significant to South Atlanta, a neighborhood central to the city\u2019s elite Black community at the turn of the last century. The house had been built by Luther Judson Price, a local store owner and South Atlanta\u2019s first postmaster; he and his wife, Minnie, raised their five children there. Price was known as a community leader who actively encouraged the Black community to exercise their right to vote (see sidebar, opposite). <\/p>\n

\u201cThe story in this house is a source of joy and pride for South Atlanta because of Mr. Price\u2019s connection to the post office and to bringing people together,\u201d Jonathan says. Now the couple, former Peace Corps volunteers who had been \u201cworld schooling\u201d their children while living internationally, are ready to blend their own family history into this house\u2019s rich legacy. \u201cWe traveled with our children, allowing them to spread their wings. Now we want to provide them with firm roots in the community we hold dear,\u201d says Kysha. The Hehns found a like-minded partner in local builder Jerry Davis, who is helming the renovation of the 3,000-square-foot house, now being documented as part of This Old House\u2019s 44th television season. <\/p>\n

TOH general contractor Tom Silva and Jonathan discuss adding a vapor barrier to address condensation when unconditioned space, where indoor and outdoor temperatures are the same\u2014 represented by the glass in Tom\u2019s hand\u2014 becomes conditioned space (see the glass in the foreground).<\/p>\n

Steve Dietl<\/p>\n

As passionate as the couple are about saving the house, there is no denying the scale of the challenge. The two-story Folk Victorian retains original period features including bay windows<\/a>, decorative moldings, pine floors, and fireplaces, but as a result of sitting vacant for years, the house suffered extensive rot to its roof, eaves, and soffits. Vines had overgrown the house\u2019s front gable. <\/p>\n

Additions tacked on decades ago were structurally unsound. A rear addition, for example, had sunk about 6 inches. An exterior staircase, appended when the house was converted to a multi-unit dwelling, was dilapidated, and the interior still retained kitchens on both the first and second floors. Paint was peeling from walls and ceilings, and in some areas of the second floor, the ceiling had collapsed entirely. To top it off, they found extensive termite damage.<\/p>\n

Despite all the issues, the Hehns remain determined. The couple envision a single-family house with four bedrooms and three baths on two stories, and new rear additions to create expanded living space around an open kitchen. The first-floor front rooms of the house, where the original owner welcomed in neighbors, will be restored much as they were, and the family hopes to continue that legacy of hosting the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are trying to do is reinvigorate these wonderful old spaces and tailor them to this family\u2019s dynamic lifestyle,\u201d says project architect Christopher Bailey. As many original details as possible will remain, including built-ins, picture rails, and fluted door casings with decorative rosettes. Plans call for widening several passageways to create a more open layout, which will require altering those casings to fit. Demolition has removed dropped ceilings and revealed the full 7-foot height of the original doorways, which had been lowered several inches. The homeowners also want to restore the pine floors and as many single-pane windows as can be saved but will install energy-efficient double-pane windows in newly built spaces. <\/p>\n

An important restoration will be enhancing the interior staircase, a feature that originally occupied a central hall when the house was built, but was relocated and enclosed by walls to accommodate a second side entrance when the house became a multi-unit dwelling in the early 1900s. Although the homeowners discussed moving the stairway back to its original location, they ultimately decided to leave it in place but open it up; Davis will adjust the treads and add a balustrade in place of one of the walls.<\/p>\n

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Grid View<\/p>\n

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