Historic Renovation Receives “Green” Restoration Accolades
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.
Restoring a Wright Masterpiece
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.
If 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:
Cypress – “The Wood Eternal”
Cypress has earned the distinction of being known as, “The Wood Eternal.” The Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association’s 1938 handbook titled, Tide Water Red Cypress, eloquently describes its durability:
For over a thousand years, the original massive Cypress doors of Saint Peter’s Church in Rome swung on their hinges. They were still in a perfect state of preservation when replaced with ornamental bronze.”
In fact, recent Cypress log excavations discovered sound wood buried over 100,000 years ago along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. The handbook, which makes for very interesting reading and I highly recommend, also references the termite resistance of the wood:
Cypressene—the essential oil of Cypress—makes Cypress highly repellent to termites. Cypress timbers in 300-year-old Spanish buildings in Florida have resisted termites, while connecting timbers of other woods were destroyed.”
Goodwin uses Cypress and pine for both interior and exterior applications. The Villages, a retirement community in Florida, features Goodwin’s Cypress and pine exteriors on one of their recent projects, Brownwood. The logs on the cabin, the posts in front of the plants and the bandstand ceiling are all heartpine. The bandstand benches, the cabin doors, and other siding are heart Cypress.
Goodwin Luxury Reclaimed Floors Featured on Houzz
Like a kid in a candy shop, I just can’t get enough of houzz.com. What’s not to love? From every conceivable look to every type of room, you can create and recreate your favorite dream homes every week! Take a look at this gorgeous home by New England architects, Whitten Architects, featuring Goodwin Company’s luxury reclaimed wood flooring.
Houses Made of Wood And Light
Move to an island and design the houses there, well, it sounds like many an architects dream come true! And it was for Hank Schubart, chief architect for the many of the homes on Salt Spring Island, near Vancouver. You can now peruse over 230 designs for wooden residential and commercial buildings, using primarily cedar and glass, in the recently published monograph, “Houses Made of Wood and Light – The Life and Architecture of Hank Schubart” by editors Michele Dunkerley and Jane Hickie, photography by Jim Alinder.
Schubart interned under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin in 1933, and continued his architectural legacy. He was well respected among his island community. Those who were interviewed for the book felt grateful to be a part of his vision. The homes are not only elegant, but resilient, requiring relatively little maintenance for their upkeep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest environment. In the last chapter of the book, the editors remark, “As the island continues to change, Schubart’s houses endure. He raised the bar for building standards on the island, and his houses are reminders that quality matters in small communities and in modest – as well as grand – homes.” photo courtesy of http://www.housesmadeofwoodandlight.com/
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