BY: KEITH BRANNON

A renovator’s quest for vintage doors, windows and tile in an age of Home Depot.

Wooden element

What makes an old New Orleans home unique?
It’s a question haunting me ever since I started renovating my 70-year-old Broadmoor home after it took on more than two feet of water in Hurricane Katrina. The repairs brought drastic changes to the house—new siding, roof and floor plan—and many of the classic original features are being replaced with new material.


Drawer pulls and handles.


Beautifully crafted plaster cove ceilings, Depression-era molding, vintage bathroom tiles and long plank red oak flooring were all casualties of the demolition process along with several cypress double hung windows. Now that I’m putting the house back together, I’m having a terrible time replicating or substituting some of those classic details, and it’s driving me crazy.

Even in a city with such rich architectural heritage as New Orleans, it’s a struggle to find period appropriate windows, doors, hardware and trim. Experts say it has gotten harder since the storm because half the city is renovating and there are fewer architectural salvage companies and skilled craftsmen to meet increased demand.


Stained glass window.


“We have a lot of high quality materials in these older houses that you just can’t get nowadays,” says architect David Dillard, who specializes in restoring historic homes.

Finding Windows
New Orleans windows are a great example. Older neighborhoods are filled with large, single-paned floor to ceiling double-hung windows that you’d have to hire a skilled craftsman to duplicate. Even common wood windows from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s are a challenge to find.

I spent months searching salvage stores like the Green Project and other places to find old windows to reasonably match two sets that needed replacing. None worked.


I asked several millwork shops for bids to replace the two 61-inch-by-34-inch window sets. The cost? Anywhere from $2,700 to $3,200 per set. A larger kitchen window was a whopping $4,400 to $5,000.

Dillard, who also teaches a class in home restoration at Tulane University’s School of Continuing Studies, says expect to pay a premium for a historically accurate, custom reproduction.

Wooden cornice piece.


“If you’re really trying to get a true, double-hung window, sometimes that’s the only way to go,” he says.

The old windows were made of hardwoods resistant to moisture. If you’re paying for a new custom window, make sure you get Spanish cedar, which is closest to the old material, Dillard says.


Preservation 411

The Preservation Resource Center is an incredible resource for anyone restoring an old home.
    •  The group has an online listserv at
        http://groups.yahoo.com/group/preserveneworleans.
        It’s a clearinghouse for advice, news and information
        for renovators.

    •  The PRC also has a database of contractors, businesses
        and tradespeople that specialize in repairing old houses.

    •  The PRC has resources for everything from ironwork
        to gutters. The list isn’t on the group’s web site,
        www.prcno.org, but staffers will e-mail a copy upon
        request. Need to reach them by phone? Call 636-3040.

And, while it’s months away, another great resource is the Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference, scheduled for October. The four-day national trade show will feature more than 70 educational seminars and workshops covering topics like window and sash repair, door and hardware installation, plaster repair, roofing, siding, ornamental ironwork, paint selection and more. For more information,
go to www.traditionalbuildingshow.com.

A Plaster Predicament
I’ve pretty much given up on replacing the old cove ceilings. All the contractors and drywall companies that bid on the project said they don’t do plaster work and don’t know anyone who still does cove detailing. I’ve heard that Fypon sells urethane molding that gives a faux cove look, but I haven’t found anyone who installs or recommends it.

Plaster Ceiling Medallions

Sue Sperry, spokeswoman for the Preservation Resource Center, says that there are several plaster companies in town that may be able to handle cove work, but it’s beyond my modest budget. A top-of-the-line plaster job can cost $20 a square foot, according to Kevin Mercadel, program officer for the New Orleans office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. That price includes new lathe plus three layers of plaster. It can cost up to ten times as much for new plaster than drywall. 

“But don’t rip out what you don’t need to replace,” Sperry says. “Even if you have some patching, and perhaps a 10-foot-by-10-foot wall that will need to be replaced, that is still less expensive than sheet rocking an entire house. When you do the math, you usually come out ahead to repair vs. replace.”

Sperry says the PRC is getting lots of calls from homeowners looking for plaster advice. The old material is naturally water resistant—many homeowners ripped it out needlessly, fearing mold growth.

“Plaster doesn’t hold water like sheetrock. As long as the lathing underneath has a chance to breathe and dry out, a lot of times it can be saved.” Says Miller Engelhardt, owner of general contracting firm Canal Construction of Louisiana. “Mold is typically just on the surface with plaster, it doesn’t soak in.”



Vintage Fixtures
Decoratiave Iron Elements

Because so many period details from the rest of my house are gone, I’m committed to keeping the old 1930s bathrooms intact. The black and white pinwheel tile flooring in one is in great shape but many of the original plumbing fixtures deteriorated in the salty floodwater. In many cases,  corroded brass faucets can be redipped and restored. Bob Bunch, owner of Gretna Plating on the Westbank, says he is getting a lot of work from flood victims in historic neighborhoods. Most of the work is redipping chrome or nickel pieces. The cost? It depends, Bunch says, but in many cases it’s around half the price of buying new ones of a similar quality.

Glass Door Knobs

The other bathroom with classic 4 by 4 ceramic field tile is a harder challenge. Turns out vintage ceramic tile is quite passé. Most suppliers are stocked with stone, glass or mosaics with fewer options for brightly colored vintage field tile. I’ve found a few promising leads at specialty tile shops like Stafford Stone & Tile on Magazine Street and some wholesalers in Harahan, but I’ve yet to find a similar color to the original ceramic. Because so much of the original tile had to be replaced, I’ll likely find a period appropriate color and replace it all to keep the original look. It’s all part of a tricky balance between preservation and replication to keep an old house going without losing the character that makes it so special.


Resources for Architectural Details
Salvage shops:

The Green Project
2831 Marais St.
945-0240

Habitat Restore
2830 Royal St.
943-2240
www.habitat-nola.org

Resurrection New Orleans
701 Market St.
527-5226
www.resurrectionno.com

Ricca’s Architectural Sales
511 N. Solomon St.
www.riccasarchitectural.com
 

Custom millwork and trim:
 
Acadian Millwork
and Supply
800/349.9663

Architectural Lathe & Millwork
2819 Chartres St
947-0980

Architectural Wood Manufacturers
22473 Pratt’s Dairy Rd.
Abita Springs
985/246-1300

Fuller Fine Woodworks
4120 Tchoupitoulas St.
897-3040

The Mill Shop
540 Louisa St.
858-0314

Quality Custom Woodwork
985/626.5803

Riverside Lumber
5451 Morrison Rd.
242-6626
www.riversidelumber.com

Silvarum
3611 Dauphine St.
945-0435, 915-3477


Windows:

Anderson Windows and Doors
www.andersenwindows.com

Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors
www.jeld-wen.com

Marvin Windows and Doors
www.marvin.com

Pella Window and Doors
www.pella.com


PLATING:

Gretna Plating
725 Carricox, Gretna
367-2214


Photographs for article were taken at Ricca’s Architectural Sales.