LPA Announces Fall 2024 Preservation in Progress Awards

For LPA’s fall Preservation in Progress Awards, we feature two great whole-house rehabilitation projects and a repair program for an unusual two-story full-length front porch structure.

  844 Arkansas KHRI #045-3010-01726

For many years, the storybook 1930 brick-and-stucco Tudor Revival at 844 Arkansas was known by its neighbors as one of the best-kept houses on the block. However, in recent years it had experienced neglect—first as a rental and then with years of vacancy. In January, Katie Schwada and her daughter Brenna purchased the home and undertook a thorough rehabilitation program. Over the past eight months, hardly a day has gone by without contractors working at the house.

The home is part of a small subdivision created by Victor Johnson, who purchased the lots in the 800 block on the east side of Arkansas and west side of Missouri as the city began to grow from its original townsite. In 1908, Johnson built his own house at 845 Missouri. 844 and 846 Arkansas, both built in 1930, were the final residences constructed in the Johnson Block, now a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. The home was owned for several decades by the Achning family, proprietors of Achning Hardware, which operated at 822 Massachusetts from 1886 to 1968.

One of the first steps the Schwadas undertook was to remove the insidious ivy that had engulfed the northwest side of the house and damaged windows, stucco and even the foundation. (Hint to homeowners: ivy growth left unchecked on your home’s surfaces will damage your home!) The prominent chimney on the front side was tuckpointed, the original windows and entry doors were completely restored, the house was painted and new storm windows were installed.

Photo contributed by tom harper

The first-floor footprint was left intact. Ceiling tile from the 1960s was removed, walls repaired, white- and red-oak flooring was refinished and new fixtures were installed. The original trim was cleaned and painted. The first-floor bathroom (they kept the original bathtub) and kitchen were renovated while installing all new electrical—including buried electric line to the house—and plumbing. Insulation was added. Second-floor work included removing attic walls to expand living and closet space. The Schwadas also installed a bathroom on the south side. The HVAC system was replaced with a single furnace and A/C controlled by two thermostats. Dampers let the main level/lower level and upstairs temperatures be controlled separately.

Photo contributed by tom harper

The foundation needed significant repairs. The entire foundation was piered, raising the east and south corners 3½ inches and 1½ inches, respectively, on the north and west wall along the front elevation. The old concrete cellar floor was removed and dug down to provide enough space to finish the basement. The basement is now equipped with family, laundry, utility and reading rooms.

As this intensive work is now winding down, 844 Arkansas is once again one of the best-kept houses on the block. Neighbors are thrilled, and Brenna has a beautifully restored historic house in which to live. This is an outstanding example of a whole-house rehabilitation executed perfectly

925 Kentucky

When we last left James Dunn and his preferred contractor, Ryan Cecil of Cecil Construction, they were wrapping up a major front porch rehabilitation along with some interior projects at 936 Kentucky Street (the old Colonial Inn) in 2023. Apparently they still were in a front porch frame of mind, however, because now they are well underway on another porch project on a Dunn property at 925 Kentucky, right across the street.

Purchased by James and Nancy Dunn in 1985, this residential property in the Oread Historic District dates back to circa 1873, but alterations in 1903 and sometime after 1949 lent a 20th Century Revival look to the structure. The full-width two-story front porch—a unique feature in historic housing found in Lawrence—was part of the later alteration.

While the porch foundation was still solid, the first floor framing needed to be replaced, and new flooring installed. The exterior wood sheathing of the two-story columns was removed so the crew could identify and replace framing elements that had deteriorated before installing pre-primed new sheathing. The upstairs floor was found to be in good condition.

The project included construction of a new handrail and baluster system for both levels of the porch. While designing the new handrail to current railing height standards, the Cecil crew was able to create a pattern design that maintains the look of the original handrails. On the second floor, a horizontal metal pipe had been installed at one time above the old handrail to provide an extra level of fall protection that will now be unnecessary with the new rail. The pipes will be left in place as an interesting detail in the story of this house.

This is the third PIP award for the Dunn and Cecil team, all in the 900 block of Kentucky, with two of them primarily being porch projects. Exterior porches typically require more frequent maintenance than the houses they are attached to. Sometimes they can become too far gone to be reasonably brought back. Bravo to this partnership for rescuing this unique and fun porch structure.

740 Louisiana

When Silviu and Amanda Stan decided last year to leave West Coast city life and come to Lawrence to be closer to family (Amanda is the daughter of LPA members Michael Morley and Angela Candela), they purchased one of the neediest houses on one of the best blocks in the Old West neighborhood. The William McKee house, a two-story, side-gable National Folk House (circa 1873), needed a lot of work, including all new electrical and plumbing systems. Their plan was to live on one floor while working on the rest, with Silviu, who restores RVs professionally, performing a lot of the basic work while coordinating with contractors.

After their July move-in, the couple realized that the deeper they got into the work, the more they could see that the house had endured layers of make-do repairs over time, cobbled together in a patchwork fashion that demanded not a refresh but a return to square one. And by August, when the clay pipe sewer line failed and its connection broke in the alley, the couple knew it was time for Plan B. They had to move out and into a short- term rental.

Photo provided by Amanda Stan

They first had to piece together a project team and redefine the scope of work. Mike Myers of Hernly Associates helped the couple put together a good plan. As a contributing property to the Historic District, the plan needed historic review, which it passed administratively. The project was eligible for the Kansas Historic State Tax Credit (a 25% state tax credit for most of the project expenses), and attorney (and LPA vice president) Patrick Watkins was brought on to oversee the documentation and reporting requirements.

Between Mike, Patrick and Amanda’s parents, there was plenty of good advice about contractors the couple would need to hire. While Amanda was busy in her professional job as a nurse, Silviu was at the house knocking out items on his to-do list and making sure each contractor had what they needed.

Photo provided by Amanda Stan

Bost Plumbing and Good Energy Solutions have been involved throughout, while Riley Walker and Mark Burton have been key players for carpentry and wood flooring. The original windows and entry staircase remain, and all the painted interior trim that had been removed to install new wallboard is ready to reinstall. Silviu notes that while there are similarities between restoration of RVs and old houses—if you tear into something to fix one thing you will encounter four or five other things requiring attention—it’s the work to correct the framing errors from previous alterations that has been the biggest focus. Cuts in original framing members had damaged the structural integrity of the home. Seeing the framing after wall and ceiling materials were removed allowed him to understand this, and the team professionals were able to recommend fixes to make the structure solid again.

Silviu and Amanda are hoping to be back in their house by the new year, likely upstairs while some first-floor work continues. It’s been a long journey and LPA is happy to shine a light on their great work.