Franklin st restoration

     Walking through the streets of lockport can really give you quite a different perspective off area. You begin to notice small details and architectural details on homes you wouldn't normally notice. These little nods and gestures are hints into Lockport's rich historical past. 

      Walking down Franlkin st. In the beginning of the past summer I noticed a very under appreciated home that most people would consider an eyesore or blight. I knew this home was just yearning for a like minded person to give her the love she needs. 

     If you are a like minded preservationist like us, you can see by the photo the incredible potential this home has to offer. 

     So later on towards the fall I was walking along and noticed some big changes.

 

     Wow! What an incredible difference in a short time. I am not sure who is responsible for the work, but whoever you are you are doing an incredible job! I was hoping to meet the owner someday while they were working on the house, just to say hi and praise the job, but no such luck...yet.  

     They did not strip the home of details. No where is any vinyl visible. The my lot color paint pallet is classy and bold. You can't help but to notice this beauty now. 

      Just look what a new roof and some paint can do. There is no need to destroy old home with vinyl. This is how all our old homes can and deserve to look like. Even the windows and leaded glass are left in place. 

     You can take a home in our city and create your very own victorian palace. Lockport needs more people like the owners of this home. Once again, well done!

      

The facade, oh the facade.

How will we take this very unattractive and soulless looking home from its current awkward state, into it's original second empire beauty and luster?

     It's not going to be an easy task undoing what careless previous owners spent years destroying. But with some time, patience and practice, she will transform into a victorian gem once again .

This is our sketch for our envisioned end product. As you can see its quite ambitious. But under the layers of cheap plastic and insulbrick siding is the original clapboard in beautiful condition.

 

     Once the top layer was removed we were then able to restore the clapboard. Patching and filling what felt like millions of nail holes it's slowly getting there. 

The enclosed porch had to go and footers were poured. New framing for the deck was built and columns generously supplied by Mr. Timkey were then put in place. 

     Literally nothing of the original home was left. When they applied the vinyl siding every architectural detail and design was ripped off to create a flat box surface. Terrible tragedy that happened to many of our historic homes. The good news is that wood and talent is still available, so everything can be re created! 

So lets just jump ahead two summers, shall we? A lot of restoration work has been done, fence added, true arched wooden windows custom built to replace vinyls and the list goes on and on. We are still not 100 percent happy with the color schemes and certain details but those changes will have to wait until this summer. 

     We may move the fence across the street to our new house and replace it with a black wrought iron fence. The flat mansard roof will be restored, steeple and copper dome added next summer as well. The project is slowly getting there and  then it's onto the next. 

     This is not an investment property. This is my personal canvas that's soothes my artists sole and a testament to my belief that the homes built from the wealth of the Erie Canal deserve to be preserved for future generations.

      Many cities across America are bulldozing their   historic homes at an alarming rate. Lets not make the same mistakes of our tragic urban renewal past. We can save these homes and create a commodity in lockport, these homes matter!

A new scroll saw. How's the first corbel looking?

     So after a couple years of purchasing vintage corbels we diced we to give a go a making our own. 

     It's a simple design based on a second empire corbel we came across. When buying antique corbels, they don't always match up to existing applications. We need to take a more custom design approach.  

     Corbels were typically used on the eaves and cornices of buildings and homes. They are works of art that can really turn a boring home into a show stopper. People even have been using corbels lately as shelf brackets and decor in their  homes. 

     So tell us what you think of our first design!

Vacancy of property?

     How can a home sit abandoned for over thirty years? This is a good question. What makes a home owner keep up with the taxes of their property, yet leave it to rot, to become an eyesore and breeding ground for crime? 

     There is no intelligent answer to these questions because nothing about the situation is intelligent. It is unfair to neighbors to have to put up with this kind of negligence from scumlords and lazy hacks.            

This is our second purchase in the city which happens to be right across the street from our current restoration! This home sat unusable for over thirty years in the hands of someone who had no intentions to ever make use of the property. It may not look like much now, but once we are done, this modest queene Anne will shine like the diamond she is. 

          I can understand and sympathize with an individual needing a few years to complete a restoration, especially to the extent of mine, however if no work is being done at all...excuses begin to wear thin. How can we solve this issue? The answer is very simple, a vacancy tax. 

     Unlike most taxes that have a negative effect on residents of lockport, this tax only benefits them. Give home owners and land lords a certain amount of time to remedy derelict properties, maybe two or three years max. Once the time is up, an extension could be requested assuming work has been done within a timely manner or the vacancy tax will begin. 

     This tax would not be applied to  bully a citizen, this tax will be an incentive to get these homes back on the market or in the hands of individuals who actually plan to use them. Further stabilizing the neighborhood with proud home ownership.

     If the owners are not able to pay the additional vacancy tax this allows the property to fall back into the hands of the city very quickly, this allowing a new owner to rehab and put a new house on the tax books.   

      It's either this or allow individuals to pay low taxes on their derelict home and drag everyone's property values down with them. It's not fair to neighbors and it's not fair to the city of Lockport!

     Please Stop using our homes and city as a toilet.  We, the citizens can make a difference.