The Woodrow Wilson House — Complete Envelope Restoration
Project Details
Owner: The National Trust for Historic Preservation
Contract Amount: $533,546
Date of Award: July 22, 2002
Date of Completion: July 11, 2003
Architect: Archetype, Washington, DC
Top photo: The North facade after renovations.
Bottom photo: The South facade following renovation work.
The Woodrow Wilson House project restored the exterior envelope of Washington's only Presidential Museum-a National Historic Landmark-to its original 1915 splendor. Wilson House is located on Embassy Row in Northwest Washington, which has long served as home to diplomats, statesmen, writers, artists, and former presidents. The ambassadors of Egypt, France, and Zambia have residences nearby.
The scope of work included:
- Tuckpointing and cleaning of the entire façade and garage walls,
- Restoration and reconstruction of garden retaining walls,
- Repair of limestone,
- Removal of the existing roofing,
- Installation of a new modified, asphaltic membrane upper roof,
- Replacement of the garage terrace roof membrane,
- Installation of new ceramic tile terrace, and
- Repair and replacement of copper downspouts and gutters.
On October 23, 2003 Grunley Construction won a 2003 Washington Contractor Merit Award for its work on this project. It won in the category of "Renovation/Restoration by Contractors Over $100 Million."
This project was unique in that it required superior craftsmanship by an array of artisans. For example, a stone sculptor repaired the ornamental stone on the inside garden wall, and applied replacement stone to the portions of the design that had chipped away or deteriorated. The sculptor took special care in matching the color to the existing. Decorative "collection boxes" were handcrafted and added to the top of the downspouts to catch rain as it comes off the new North and South roof. The new boxes matched the architectural features of the existing. This project also required that the tuck-pointers use a variety of specialized techniques to ensure the brickwork was reminiscent of the early 20th Century.