DIY Network

Restoring a Historic Knoxville Home From "Restoration Realities" episode DRTR-106

	The site of today's Restoration Reality is this home in a historic section of Knoxville, Tennessee.

In this episode of DIY's Restoration Realities, we visit Knoxville, Tennessee and the home of Sean and Jennifer Bolen. Located in a historic area of the city known as Old North Knoxville, the 1904 home is a great project house, but at the time that the Bolen's purchased it needed a lot of work.

The Bolens have already put a new roof on the house, and done some painting and general fix-up. Restoration specialists Bill Click and Chris Babcock now sign on to help the Bolens with a couple of additional projects -- repair to settling cracks in the plaster of an upstairs bedroom, and dressing up a stairway with anaglypta wall-covering and chair-rail.

In this first segment, we're introduced to the Bolen family and their historic Knoxville home.

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	Homeowners Sean and Jennifer Bolen.
	Jennifer Bolen at work painting one of the rooms where the major work is already completed.

Sean Bolen is a financial planner in Knoxville without any background in construction or restoring old homes. When he and his wife Jennifer took ownership of the house, it had stood empty for about 20 years. There were roof leaks and puddles of water on the floor, and many other aspects of the house in need of attention. But this beautiful old home had plenty of promise.

Though in need of restoration, the house is in one of Knoxville's oldest neighborhoods, and one where restoration of old homes by caring individuals is ongoing. The area has a number of historic homes and is undergoing a restoration renaissance of sorts.

The Bolens were expecting to spend a lot of time restoring their home -- they just didn't plan on expecting. Three weeks after they completed purchase of their home, the couple found out they were pregnant. The situation gave sudden urgency to try and get the aged building in live-in condition before the baby came.

The Bolens were successful in restoring several rooms on their own, and have put on a new roof, but now Restoration Realities steps in to help remedy several plaster cracks in one of the upstairs bedrooms, as well as spruce up their stairway with period-appropriate anaglypta wallpaper and a beautiful red-oak chair rail.

	Today's Restoration Reality project is in an area of town known as "Old North Knoxville" -- a neighborhood with many historic homes and a growing trend toward restoration. Nearby is another historic district known as the "Fourth and Gill" neighborhood.

Materials and tools used in this episode:

For plaster repair
Five-way or other scraping device
3-4" taping knife, utility knife
6" wide taping knife
10"-12" wide taping knife
Cordless screw gun or drywall gun
Ladder and walk Boards
Drill with paint mixing paddle
Drywall screws
Plaster washers
Large cellulose sponge
Rubber base grout-float
Trowel
5-Gallon Bucket
2-3 Gallons of room-temperature water
Box of perlited plaster
1-Gallon of bonding primer
Drop cloths
150-grit Sandpaper
Spray bottle
Gypsum wall compound
Safety glasses and dust mask
For hanging anaglypta wall-covering
4' metal straight edge or level
Anaglypta Wall Covering
(2) Paint Pans; one for adhesive and one for paint
(2) Painting Roller Frame/Brush; one for adhesive and one for paint\
Releasable painting tape
Cut Brush
Clay-based wallpaper adhesive or paste
Large Table Top
Drop Cloths
4' metal straight edge or level
Plumb line
Sharp scissors
Snap-blade razor knife
Putty knife
Smoothing brushes; long and short bristled
3-5 Gallon Bucket and sponges
Water
Paste brush
Pencil
Measuring Tape
Paint
Paint rollers
For installing the chair-rail
Hammer
Nail-set
4' Level
Miter saw and power-miter box
Stud finder
Brad gun
Pre-milled chair-rail
10d brite-finish trim nails
or 2" pneumatic nailer
Wood filler matching the wood's finish
Tinted polyurethane
Measuring tape

Note: This is a summary of steps included in the procedures shown in this episode of Restoration Realities. There may be variations in procedures for your particular restoration project based on the types of materials you select and the nature or extent of your particular project. Always follow proper safety precautions, and read and follow manufacturer's guidelines, diagrams and safety notices that come with materials or products that you select.

In the segment that follows, work gets underway on repairing plaster in upstairs bedrooms.

RESOURCES :

Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes
Author: George Nash
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561585351
Order this title from Amazon.com.

Renovating and Restyling Older Homes: The Professional's Guide to Maximum Value Remodeling
Author: Lawrence Dworin
Publisher: Craftsman Book Company
ISBN: 1572180293
Order this title from Amazon.com.

Selecting and Renovating an Old House: A Complete Guide
Author: United States Department of Agriculture
July 2000
Publisher: Dover Publications
ISBN: 0486409562
Order this title from Amazon.com.