The 1836 Greek Revival house, built by a member of the prominent Taft family, remains under the diligent care of Umbrian-born preservationists with a light touch.
ON A QUIET STREET IN the historic Anson borough neighborhood of Charleston, South Carolina, a stately “single house” with restrained Greek Revival details survives with original elements intact. (The single house is a form almost unique to Charleston—one with its narrow side, often two or three bays wide, and its gable end facing the street and the longer side, often five bays wide, running perpendicular to the street. Thus, the piazzas open to a side garden.) Built in 1836 by Augustus R. Taft, a member of the prominent New England family that included President William Howard Taft, the house stayed in the family for more than a century. It was inherited by Augustus Taft’s daughter, who married into the old Charleston Stoney family. With the exception of six months in 1865—when the residence was confiscated by the Freedman’s Bureau to house freed slaves after the Civil War—the house had remained in the Taft family lineage.
Denne historien er fra January/February 2017-utgaven av Old House Journal.
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Denne historien er fra January/February 2017-utgaven av Old House Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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a farmhouse renewed
Sensitive renovations and restoration work preserved a house that dates to 1799.
AN OVERVIEW OF METAL ROOFING
METAL ROOFS ARE RESURGENT, FOR GOOD REASONS.
ENDURING BEAUTY IN WALLS of STONE
Now back in the family who had been here since 1830, the old farmhouse is again ready for generations to come. Additions dating to 1840 and the 1950s were preserved.
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS COME TO LIFE
Owners and their designer celebrate the unique features of a 1912 Arts & Crafts Tudor.
For a Wet Basement Wall
If there's problem common to old houses, it's a wet basement. I'm not talking about occasional flooding, but rather a basement that apparently seeps or leaks after even a rain shower or during snowmelt. Several approaches are available; sustainable solutions will get to the root of the problem.
Patching a Plaster Wall
Fix a hole in the wall with a few common tools and some drywall supplies. Practice your technique!
Navigating the Lumberyard
Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard.
Roofing & Siding
Make note of these historical and unusual materials for the building envelope.
The Riddle of the water
When water incursion happens, the roof isn't necessarily the culprit. Maybe snaking a drain line, or clearing debris from a clogged gutter, temporarily will stem a leak. But a recurring problem usually means other forces are at work. It takes persistence-and a team with the right skills and patience—to identify the source and apply a solution.
Light-filled Craftsman Redo
For a dark kitchen in a 1914 Illinois house, the trick was anchoring white expanses with woodsy warmth.
