HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC2016-016 Letter From Stephanie Roberts To Historic Commission 06/07/2016June 7, 2016
Historic Commission
723 West Markham Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Commissioners:
My husband Greg Roberts and I would like to petition to have permission to change several items on our
house. We live in a Victorian cottage on Rock Street between 10" and 11th streets. Our house was built
in 1887. We believe at one point the kitchen had a flat roof and at some time in the early 90's was
altered to a gabled roof (one on each side). The house was also sided with aluminum siding and the
front porch was screened in.
Several small items we would like to address with the front of the house are:
1. Replace the front and side door of the front porch with a more appropriate door that match
each other
2. Replace the four by fours that currently act as columns for our front porch (left over from
the screened in porch) with appropriate turned columns
3. Put up a black, wrought iron fence across the front of the house with a gate. Our neighbors
existing wood fence would run down the side of our two house on the North side.
4. Install shutters on all windows that at one time had shutters (as confirmed by Brian
Minyard)
I have found and attached photos of the type of front door we would like to use and the turned
columns. I will have to have some guidance from staff on the style and size of shutters that would have
been used on our house but have attached photos of the type of shutter we are assuming would have
been used. In reference to the fence, I have attached a photo of the style fence we would like to install
but I do not have the actual fence at this time. We would like to find an antique fence to use if possible.
Brian did suggest that a wood fence may be more appropriate for our style of house. My concerns are
that my neighbors have a beautiful wood fence that runs along the front of their house that we would
like to extend down the side of the house between our two houses. If we were to also put a wood fence
up in front of our house we might start looking a little bit like a compound. I also prefer the ease of
maintenance that an iron fence affords but rely of the committee to guide us on this.
When my husband and I bought the house in 1992, we updated many things in the house that had been
neglected over the years and finished what had been left incomplete with the back of the house
alternations. For the first few years we did not realize there was any problem with the roof. We then
started to notice a small leak when it would rain. We attempted countless repairs and gutters and
finally put a new roof which included all new decking. After a while the leak came back. It has been
years of patches and everything you can think of to stop the leak and damage being done. We have
replaced the interior wall twice and a rotten seal once. We have finally come to the conclusion that the
problem with the roof cannot be repaired with any type of patch.
We have had two contractors look at the house and both agree that with the way the roof is designed
right now, too much water flow is created in the valley and that if left unchanged we will never have a
resolution. The two options offered to us were flat roof or removing the back two gables and making
one big gable. Basically we will be scooping out the inside and joining the two outsides in the middle at
a higher point and bringing them out to the back of the house. This new height will be able to be seen
over the front roof line of the house. At the final drawings it looks like this new piece to the roof will
peak over about 4 %2 feet over the existing roof line.
The new gable would have the same trim and relief as the other gables. We would also like to add
dormers on each side of the new gable. These dormers would also have the same trim and relief as the
existing gables. The line drawings provided indicate dormers with much longer windows that are
required. At the time of drawings we thought the windows in the dormers had to be the same size as the
existing windows so they are sketched with 77" windows. As the windows get smaller so will the
dormers to a more appropriate size. The last piece we would like to address is the pitch on our garage
space behind the house. We would like to increase the pitch of the roof to 12 x 12 to match the house.
We would also like to add an exterior stair case on the north side if possible for access to what we would
like to use as storage space. The garage cannot be seen from the street except for a small patch of roof.
All siding and trim will match what is original to the house.
One last note about the roof, the option of the flat roof did not leave us with the ceiling height we
wanted inside nor the aesthetic that we were looking for outside. I have spent countless hours driving
our downtown neighborhoods looking for inspiration and guidance as to what style would have been
appropriate had the change been made correctly from the beginning. Although what we are proposing
may not have been the builder's original intention, we feel address our modern day needs while still
recognizing the history and style of the neighborhood in which we live and love.
B st re �a�rd s,
Stephanie Roberts
enclosures