| Preservation
"Preservation" is defined as the act
or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing
form, integrity, and materials of an historic property. Work, including
preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally
focuses on the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials
and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction.
New exterior additions are not within the scope of this treatment;
however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical,
and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties
functional is appropriate within a preservation project.
The James House reveals much about a Hampton family
and the Town of Hampton at various periods of history. Our preservation
plan seeks to make the minimum modern permanent alterations to the
James House, and avoid reconstruction of previously removed features,
which would have to involve some degree of conjecture about the
appearances of those features.
Reconstruction has only been necessary in the ell section, where
deterioration had made it impossible to preserve without alteration.
Further, for the sake of consistency and appeal, our plan has been
to present the James House exterior with most, if not all, of the
Federal Period alterations shown in the 1892 picture.
Where evolutionary changes that have acquired
historic significance in their own right were removed, they have,
when possible, been saved and displayed as evidence of changing
taste and technology.
Click on the images to see up close examples
of the preservation and restoration process:
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Loose rubble cellar wall rebuilt by hand
as in original
construction.
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Horizontal beveled
pine sheathing, weathered before clapboards were first applied.
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Braced frame of wall between chamber and
ell showing
replacement sheathing and use of epoxy.
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Preserved chimney
post and wall studs with replacement braces
and sheathing.
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Preserved rafters, plates and attic joists
with replacement pins.
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Replacement roof
sheathing and original purlins and rafters.
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Replacement roof red cedar and hand-planed
trim.
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Corner in re-constructed
ell showing deteriorated girts and replacement corner post.
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Removed wall between chamber and ell showing
epoxied corner post, replacement brace, sheathing.
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Replacement ell
windows are entirely hand-made using hand-planed muntins, sash
and casings, and hand-made nail.
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Completed ell exterior with quarter-sawn
hand-planed clapboards and trim, and foundation of ell prior
to being joined to house.
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Come tour the James House and see
what we have done to preserve and restore the property.
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