Tag Archives: construction

New homes are cropping up in cities, not the suburbs

Increasing numbers of Americans are opting to live in close-in communities, preferring walkable neighborhoods and neighborhood schools. The proportion of home building that occurs in central cities has doubled since 2000 in 26 metro areas, writes Jonathan Hiskes in Grist.

In Memphis: new homes compatible with early 20th century designs

In Memphis: new homes compatible with early 20th century designs

Recently in Memphis, we toured the historic Midtown area, home to the Evergreen historic district. Along with the mix of early 20th century homes was a brand new development of homes that were designed to be harmonious with the surrounding community. The shot at right shows one of them. Every lot was sold and every home was occupied by people who are taking great care of them. Such a shift in development trends is great for preservation!

J.D. Magee House Stabilization Notes

We’re finally underway on the stabilization of Rosetyme. We had to remove the back 25% of the house because of the fire damage. When we did, we exposed an interior foundation that wasn’t the strongest, so things started moving around.

Blake Riley (left) and Charles Fowler, P.E. looked at the back wall foundation on March 23.

Blake Riley (left) and Charles Fowler, P.E. looked at the back wall foundation on March 23.

This will delay the framers starting on the roof for a while, while the engineer designs a foundation wall to go under the back wall (below) that will stabilize the rear of the house.

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Now it will be necessary for our engineer to design a foundation wall to replace these pilings along the north side of the house, so the roof plate will be straight.

If you would like more information about this project of the Abilene Preservation League, or would like to know how you can help, please email us.

Swenson House Arbor now under construction

It’s been a long road getting here, but the original arbor that was on the south lawn of the Swenson House is under construction! Yesterday’s photos show the forms and rebar all set for the pouring of the slab. Set in a Greek cross shape, the arbor was originally constructed with columns taken from the front of the home in 1928 when a brick portico and columns were added. We have preserved the original cypress columns, but are planning to use new materials for the columns and beams due to the cost of rehabilitating the old ones. Some of the original wood from the arbor can be seen at the southeast corner of the lawn where for his Eagle Scout project, Shawn Butler constructed a pergola.

The arbor will provide a beautiful setting for weddings, receptions and parties of all kinds on the south lawn. Thank you to Bill Emory, an engineer at CADCO Architects-Engineers and a Swenson neighborhood resident, for his many hours volunteering to do the plans for the arbor reconstruction. The lead donor for the arbor reconstruction will be announced at a later date, but we are very grateful. Estimated time for construction is about sixty days.

Update on March 12: here are some photos of the pour:

Starting on Rosetyme!


Here’s a photo of the J.D. Magee home at 1910 North 3rd St as of this morning. The damaged portion of the roof has been removed and the rooms have all been cleaned up. We had to remove the rear section of the house because of structural concerns, but the rest of it is sturdy. The framers will start soon putting a new “plate” around the top of the house to which the roof framing will attach. We’ll be putting some signs up before too long. Already the neighbors are excited about this stabilization… on its way to being a neighborhood anchor again.