The farm cottage on the grounds of Gore Place was on a regular maintenance schedule, receiving paint and exterior repair. Both the house and its connected garage had cedar roof shingles except for the rear plain of the main block. This roofing system was near the end of its life and as a consequence was allowing water to penetrate between the exterior clapboards and the pine siding. In addition the mitered corners of the wood gutter system, although covered with zinc and tar, aided this infiltration by allowing water to flow under the zinc and down the siding underneath the trim boards. This significantly shortened the life of the exterior paint. Making matters worse the clapboards and trim had been caulked sealing in the moisture and causing extensive rot, which was not visible from the outside.

After the roofing system was replaced, we were called in to perform architectural conservation services on the structures exterior clapboards, wood trim and mouldings. We began removing the extensive failed paint and replacing cracked and rotted clapboards. As part of this process we did not caulk the bottoms of the siding boards again allowing the siding to breathe.  After the exterior woodwork had been conserved, We primed all unpainted surfaces with an oil based primer and finish coats in acrylic latex. 

Next we began work on the porch. Of the four columns that supported the porch two were recent replacements, both of which had major rot problems. The remaining two, although of slightly different size were salvageable. The column bases, also recent replacements, were replaced with solid South American mahogany. Although the sills of the porch were in good condition, we treated and flashed the top facing surfaces to minimize any future rot problems.