Restoration of the Sun Porch
The porch was added in 1898 and was remodeled along with the craftsman rooms after the 1906 earthquake. It is the warmest room in the house with the best views of the lovely back garden.
Since 2023, the window frames on the west side have been covered in plastic. The installation of the repaired windows needs to wait because of the condition of the walls and foundation. We need to replace the post and beam supports under the floor, reframe two walls and windows, repair the sliding glass barn door and make the restroom larger to be more accessible.
This porch is where our "Hands on" education programs happen, where our little homemade gift shop brings in additional funding, and most importantly it has the only public restroom.
We need your help funding this project.
Replace the posts, piers and brick foundation.
Under the sun porch, you can see the failing bricks and water damaged boards. The middle of the floor is supported by post and piers that are now failing. The window sills were not installed properly. Over time it has allowed water to enter which has damaged the walls and the flooring underneath. To fix this problem we need to rebuild the gutters over the window, the window sills, and replace the flooring under the windows.
Rebuild the sliding glass barn door
Unfortunately in 2021, water from the leaking gutters, finally destroyed the wood mintons that held the wavy glass panes in the sliding door. We saved many of the panes and hope to rebuild the door. Meanwhile, the plywood helps the door keep its shape so we can continue to enter the house and to use the restroom located in this room.
Rebuilding the walls to support the rebuilt side windows
In 2023, our caretaker Mark removed the windows on the West side and discovered that he could not put the windows back because the wall that supports the frames is failing. They are still covered in plastic which is a security issue.
Replacement of the public restroom
This restroom was added to the house in 1896. Emma needed a restroom on the main floor as she got older. This is the only public restroom. Now that we have a handicap lift to enable people to enter the first floor, we would like to have a restroom to accommodate their needs.