Restoration Work On The Warren House

705 Griffith Ave. Terrel Texas

An extensive 1705 Griffith Ave, Terrel, Texas

An extensive 14-month top-to-bottom restoration of the house was undertaken in 2023. The restoration project began with an assessment, inspection, and historical review. The goal was to protect the integrity and design of the mansion and keep it as original as possible. The foundation was stabilized with multiple steel piers driven approximately twenty-seven feet deep to resistance, and concrete piers with support beams were added for additional support. Long-standing water in the basement and other drainage issues were addressed. Deteriorated beams, rafters, flooring, and plates were replaced. All decking, steps, and exterior woodwork were replaced or repaired. The roofing was replaced and repaired. The original wood windows were inspected, repaired, and made operational wherever possible. Every effort was made to preserve the original structure, materials, finishes, and construction as much as possible.

The kitchen interior was replaced in the early 2000s with a Tuscany design, but it had deteriorated due to a leaking roof that ruined the ceiling and rotted the floor. As a result, the kitchen was remodeled. The original pantry area was removed in the 1930s and reintroduced to its original location in the kitchen.

All the interior rooms had wall and ceiling repair work, plastering as needed, trim refinishing, and painting. 

Roof: We repaired the tile roof, replaced all flat roof areas, and resealed gutters and downspouts.

Facia: Repair and replace the facia, soffit, and roof trim as needed. Also, repaint and realign the concrete dentil molding at the roof eave. 

Exterior woodwork, trim, and porch ceilings have been repaired or replaced."Repaired or replaced exterior woodwork, trim, and porch ceilings.

Kitchen Rear Porch: Repaired columns and railings and replaced 120 SF of decking and steps. I added handrails and rebuilt the brick skirting and supports.

Porches: We replaced 2,167 S.F. of porch decking and steps around the house with pressure-treated lumber, added new or restored light fixtures and two Hunter outdoor fans, repainted the yard light, and added handrails as needed.

Releveled and stabilized the house as much as possible. Install new beams under the house and stabilize the foundation with steel piers around the perimeter and at the carport. Install new Sono-tubes concrete support piers with a new beam under the house as needed. Install a French drain system with a sump pump under the front deck to resolve water issues. Install a sump pump at the bottom of the basement stairs to prevent water accumulation. Obtain the engineer’s inspection letter.

Rebuild the Porte-Cochere and supporting brickwork and stabilize it with steel piers. Inspect and repair brickwork all around the house, re-build loose window lintels, relay loose bricks, and repoint all brick joints for the entire house—Replaster exterior walls as required around the house and the walls in the basement staircase. Rebuild the porch brickwork on the right side of the front porch. 

The entire kitchen needed rebuilding from water damage, made repairs as needed, replaced sub-floor and support beams, added insulation, new tile flooring, updated the electrical and lighting, all new cabinets and granite countertops, all new appliances, and 48” gas stove, commercial grade vent hood, and upgrade the kitchen to gourmet status. 

 We added a pantry area (to its original location in the kitchen) with washer and dryer connections, new custom cabinets, a granite countertop, and shelves. 

Custom bookcase cabinets were installed and lighting was upgraded. Additionally, the fireplace was converted for gas log use. The previous gentlemen's parlor room has now been transformed into a new library. All of the original woodwork has been left intact behind the bookcase cabinets, in case someone wishes to restore the room to its original state as a second parlor.

This room was originally used as a music room. We converted the closet into a bathroom so that the room could be used as a bedroom. Additionally, we replaced the deteriorated flooring in the closet. No other changes were made to the original music room. This room is now a multi-purpose space.

The dry bar that was opening into the great room (not orgionaly part of the house) has been removed and this space has been combined with the bedroom's closet to create a new bathroom and closet. Additionally, the rotted closet subfloors and base plates have been replaced. The two balcony French doors in the bedroom have been repaired and new cremone bolt hardware has been added. 

I converted the closet into a bathroom and moved the closet door from the gathering room to the inside of the bathroom, making that the bedroom closet. Moving the closet entrance into the bathroom also provided more wall space in the upstairs gathering room. 

We repaired the walls in the small sunroom, added an A/C duct, and upgraded the electric outlets. We also repaired the plaster walls as needed. We replaced the plastic walled shower with a new tile shower and a new commode. We repaired the two balcony French doors in the bedroom and added new cremone bolt hardware.

We replumb the footed tub, install a new exterior door to the crows’ nest, replace the lath and plaster walls damaged beyond repair by decades-old leaks, insulate the walls, and add new sheetrock to the room. repainted and restored wall trim. 

We removed wallpaper, repaired plaster, repainted, relocated the chandelier at the main staircase (to center it), and repaired the light fixtures.

Replace the rotted subfloor and flooring, add a corner sink, and change the door swing to out-swing rather than in. Also, add new tile flooring, a new commode, and paint. This bathroom did not have a sink; the sink was in the hallway. That sink was removed as it caused floor damage.

Add handrail, repaired plaster walls as needed, and new paint.

Repair flooring throughout the house as needed and add new flooring to all the new bathroom areas and the kitchen—Refinished all the original wood floors.

We refinished the front doors and side lights and the upper entry room doors and side lights; we had to replace the kitchen door and refinish the porch side door. Replaced the door in the upstairs right-side rear bathroom that accesses the crows-nest overlook. 

I repaired doors as needed, rehung the front parlor sliding door, added a new entry door in the pantry, and removed the rear hall door in the kitchen. 

The entire house was painted. The exterior doors were painted or stripped and refinished to their original condition. The old wallpaper (not original to the house) was stripped, the walls were repaired, and the interior was painted as needed. All surfaces were chalked and prepared with two coats of primer and two coats of paint. 

I left two fireplaces to work with gas logs (the Library fireplace and the one in the staircase nook). I converted the other seven fireplaces to work with electric logs. I added chimney Caps to keep birds and other creatures out and stop weather deterioration..

Laid-in decking panels are planned for the 2-balconies to protect the roofing and allow limited access. 

We repaired 54 windows and sills on the inside and outside, made as many as possible operational, replaced latches as needed, restored stained glass windows, and repainted. Some windows cannot be made operable without replacing or rebuilding them. 

We removed the support posts that had been added during a prior restoration and replaced them with a structural support beam. I added a concrete threshold base for the exterior basement door to create a rainwater barrier and replaced the door with an insulated steel-clad door. We added a sump pump to the bottom of the exterior basement stairwell. We closed the many open access holes that led to house crawl spaces from the basement with covers or plywood doors. I improved lighting, added handrails to the internal basement staircase, repaired/rebuilt the brick window frames, replaced the broken glass with solid wood panels, and removed rusted window bars. Add a dehumidifier draining to the sump pump. These repairs and adding a French drain under the front porch solved a decade-old water in the basement issue. 

I repaired holes in the attic flooring that had been made to allow access for old electrical upgrades, I improved lighting, added foam insulation at the rafters, and added a handrail to the interior attic staircase. I installed shelving for storage.

We replaced all the plumbing throughout the house to correct decades of inept repairs. We used PEX pipe to prevent pipe joint connections in the wall to avoid future leaks and water damage. We replaced rusted-out cast-iron vent pipes and added two (2) tankless gas water heaters. Additional plumbing was added per the architect’s plans. A dehumidifier with a drain line was added to the basement. We abandoned the broken underground drain lines under the house and replaced them with new ones in the crawl space. 

We added new electrical service and outlets as needed. 

We removed three dead or dying trees, and ground out four stumps. We attempted to save the large Magnolia tree and cleaned up the entire landscape, removing all out-of-control growth at the house and fence line. We also regraded the area for proper drainage. In addition, we removed the dilapidated fencing from the right-side yard and the associated concrete border at the bottom of the fence. We cleaned the flower beds and trimmed bushes and trees. Finally, we installed new landscaping and rebuilt the brick landing at the rear entry. bushes, and trim all trees. Install new landscaping. The brick landing at the rear entry was rebuilt.

We repaired and replaced light fixtures throughout the house, exterior porches, and yard and added new light fixtures as needed.

I replaced four (4) AC compressors and one inside condenser. I serviced the rest of the system(s), inspected ductwork repair as needed, and added a duct outlet to a small room off the upstairs back left bedroom. We moved four outlets from the attic and rerouted them to service the upstairs rooms. 

Planned is a new driveway behind the house leading to a new 3-car carport and exterior storage. (delayed)   

Carport & Storage: Per the architect's plans, we planned to construct a 3-car carport with storage rooms. (delayed).

The Internet was upgraded to fiber with mesh routers. Doorbell cameras, security lighting, and six security cameras were added.

TOTAL FOUNDATION (INCLUDING BASEMENT): 6,338 SF

ATTIC AREA 1258 SF

BASEMENT 681 SF

COVERED PORCH & PORTE-COCHERE 2167 SF

FIRST FLOOR LIVING 3370 SF

KITCHEN PORCH 120 SF

SECOND-FLOOR BALCONY 136 SF

SECOND-FLOOR LIVING 2831 SF

TOTAL UNDER ROOF: 10,562 SF 

TOTAL A/C AREA: 6,201 SF