We took out those half dead bushes, too....SO much better! I have all these flowers planted, it's so pretty.

Do you have historical photos showing how it used to look?

" I've relented to allow the floor of it to be replaced with newâ¦"

Joker_Girl:

Your floor is probably old growth lumber with amazingly tight growth rings. The replacement will probably be plantation pine planted 30 years ago for harvest. They aren't remotely comparable.

Yes, your old growth is probably covered in lead based paint, but that's not a problem unless you let your kids chew on the floorboards. Lead made excellent paint.

Your contractor is trying to save himself time and money. Your floorboards are irreplaceable. Don't let him get away with this, please.

Oh, this is the stuff that is the flooring of the porch, and it was not kept well painted, and so the edges have rot, and if you kind of bounce up and down in places, it kind of sags.

Do you suppose that, too, would be salvageable, if it were braced underneath? It isn't very thick.

The floors in the house are GORGEOUS under their unfortunate layers of paint. We have scraped some of the paint that is loose off. I was thinking about renting one of those big sanders to get it off there, but knowing me, I would be better off hiring this done, because I would take forever.

Almost all the trim is painted white. I hated it at first, but am learning to live with it, because getting all this woodwork stripped and sanded would be a tremendous job.

There is some really ugly carpet in places, too. On the back stairs (which we never really use, anyway), I lifted up the old indoor outdoor carpet covering them, and one of them has a mouse hole you can see clear down into the basement lol! So, I set it back down. They're sturdy, though.

The inside of some of the doors is quarter sawn. I sure wish they wouldn't have painted them. Just beautiful where it's not painted.

Unbelievably gorgeous brass hardware everywhere, including a circa 1869 doorbell. The previous owner stated they had intended to replace the front double door and transom window. Thank you, God, for somehow this not having happened. What a tragedy that would have been.

Here is a nearly identical house in my same town, credited to the same builder (or so I'm told), and I imagine this is what our roof was like prior to this odd change.

I was thinking about renting one of those big sanders to get it [paint] off there...

I could be an alarmist. But just maybe clouds of lead-laden dust might not be the best thing for your health. Even so-called intact lead paint poses dangers, according to the authorities we alarmists rely on.

Using a stripper meant for floors - one that will encapsulate the lead - would be much better for you.

As for the roof ... a roofer with NO experience in old houses.

My guess is that you roof/cornice which had built in "box gutters" was so under-maintained that it caused the entire cornice to rot out, and based on the estimates for properly replacing it, the decision-maker went with the least aesthetic/lowest-cost option, which involved screwing up the appearance. Replicating millwork like that , not to mention box gutters, is in the hundreds of dollars per foot range.
Casey

You're right....they definitely took the easy and cheap way out.

The roof doesn't leak and is functional, so for right now, I will probably live with it, because there are other things that need attention more....such as the porch, assorted repairs, paint, wallpapering, getting rid of these horrible dropped ceilings, etc. Taking out nasty stained up carpet and sanding or stripping the floors. (One bedroom actually has painted purple floors.)

I will probably at some point try to figure out a way to replicate what it SHOULD look like, even though it will be expensive. There is an abandoned, or at least unloved, unoccupied italianate a few blocks away, that the previous owner of this house said the same builder did both our house and it (and several others around here....all similar). It's beyond repair, but if I could find out who owns it, maybe they would sell me some things.

I hate to see my house's "sister" rot away.

I think the corbels and painted trim are important for this style, and will do what I can. I doubt I could afford box gutters put in around the entire perimeter, but I could be wrong. And I don't think it's really the kind of thing you can do a little at a time.

It's not the only weird thing here. Some of my glass transom windows are painted white. Including the glass. Why. Lol.