Old houses are special. They have special needs. They need to be cared for in a way that is sensitive to their architectural elements and design, their function in the owner's life, and their place in the community. Those concerns need even more attention when renovations, maintenance and additions are undertaken.

     When I bought the house I'm in, the Sibley-Hoyt House, it was mostly because of its "sense of place." Even though it's in an urban setting, one that was very volatile twenty years ago when I bought it, and a low income community, this house's sense of place spoke volumes to me when I first walked through it. It was as if the importance of this little house had a persona and voice that rang out above all else around it. After researching the history on this house for eighteen years, that was virtually unknown when I bought it, its past and character were revealed to me and the community. It could not be disputed. And that is why its aura will exist as long as it does. For instance, the Hoyt family owned this house from 1863 until 1974. And during that time music was taught here for 101 years.

     There is a lot of history here when it comes to animal rights. Two humane societies were co-founded by Georgia Hoyt, the last of the Hoyts to live here. One was founded right in this house: The Michigan Animal Rescue League, still going strong.

     But the anchor to this place is a small cabin dating to Pontiac's beginnings. So the history is long and rich in this house, and by not covering it up with remodels and makeovers, it still shines through, inside and out.

     There is a balance though between making sure a historic property is functional, serving modern-day needs, while remaining true to its history. I have learned how to manage these opposing needs. My work reflects that. So, with all that said, here are some of my projects on historic properties.

EXTERIORS

ABOVE: The Kelley-Fisk Farm House in White Lake Township. We were hired to paint this 1850s frame house in 2008, while re-roofing a few out buildings and building a picnic pavilion that fit in with the old.

ABOVE: This is the Horatio Howard House, on N. Saginaw St. in Pontiac. It dates to the 1840s. It was almost demolished. It had been ravaged by fire, rain, vandalism, and time. It is similar to the Wisner House in Pontiac. The cornice was a complete mess. This isn't even the worst side.

BELOW: Here, after restoration of the cornice. We did this work in 2003.

BELOW: This is the side porch of a Victorian home in Bingham Farms. I completely replaced the side and front porch floors.

BELOW: I made the flooring out of 5/4 #2 pine, that I had milled with a tongue and groove edge, like the original. I took the homeowner with me to the lumberyard to look at wood before purchasing it. 

ABOVE: The Franz home, a Greek Revival that had been re-muddled---a term in the preservation community meaning the historical integrity was covered up. This house is just down the street from the Troy Historical Village, on  Wattles. Here I am working with the homeowners to reveal and restore the beveled siding. It had been covered over with cement shingles.

BELOW: This picture was taken a few years later after I was hired to build this two-story side porch. 

BELOW: Here I am cutting off the bottom of an oak column so that I can splice a piece of 6x6" oak onto it, thereby, keeping the original oak timber construction.  

BELOW: I made these six doors for the Beaudette House, Burch home, in Pontiac. I had to design and build them from scratch. The original ones had been discarded by the previous owners, and the openings closed up. 

BELOW: This is the Davis residence, in Pontiac. It is a pre-war tudor, with a flat roof over the sun room. There had been a railing up there, as there is a door that walks out to it. They had constant leaking problems. I proposed building a pitched roof to solve the leak problem, but to also create a large walk-in closet. We also restored the coved plaster ceilings after the roof was on. 

BELOW: We installed beveled siding on the gable, with a double-hung window. You can't tell it wasn't always there.

OLD DOUBLE HUNG WINDOWS MADE NEW AGAIN!

ABOVE: Mark begins the process of removing the old sashes to install a new replacement sash kit. This particular window is a cottage style: top sash is shorter than the bottom sash.

ABOVE: This is the least invasive, least expensive, most historically correct way to replace double hung windows without spending a fortune to custom make exact windows and trim.

ABOVE: A completed window with new, insulated glass, and vinyl weathertight tracks. All wood inside and out. Can be ordered with special pane configuration such as 6 over 6, 9 over 1, or 3 vertical panes over 1, etc.

BELOW: Three of the ten windows we replaced on this floor alone of this early 20th century house.

INTERIORS

ABOVE: The Moses Wisner House, museum home for the Oakland County Pioneer & Historical Society. The display case on the second floor needed all the glass panes re-glazed. It had never been done. I used Durham's wood putty, to create a very smooth, and hard glazing. Then I primed and painted the glazing only.

BELOW: The display case upon completion.

BELOW:  A early 1900s bungalow bathroom after a complete makeover that included true linoleum flooring, paneled walls, inset cabinet doors and drawer fronts.

ABOVE: Another view shows wood paneling and molding on lower portion of walls.

BELOW: This vestibule, in the historic Beaudette House, had damaged paneling from a leaky roof. The paneled ceiling was also in need of restoration. 

BELOW: I built on-site cabinets to match the orignal in the rest of the kitchen and butler's pantry. The home dates to 1917. The stainless counter is also new and matches that in the butler's pantry. 

ABOVE: This is also in the Burch kitchen, built to match the detail on the wall cabinets: paneled ends, scroll cut brackets, leaded glass, full height.

BELOW: This doorway was created by the previous owners, going right into the master bed and bath area. After closing it up, next picture, I built shelving for shoes on the other side.

BELOW: The doorway in this hallway, that wasn't original to the house, is being closed up here. Matching paneling and picture mold exactly is imperative. We had moldings made to match.

 BELOW: A pine floor is woven together where a wall had been. There were several patches in this early 1900's floor. We took flooring up from an outside wall, used it to patch in, then put new, closely matched flooring in the area along the outside wall. It was covered with furniture, but matched very well in both wood and color.