A Long History In A Small Town With A Stone House West Hollywood
Chimney Sweep Cleaning West Hollywood— When I went to the Delaware Valley as a native Midwesterner, the first thing I noticed was the large number of fieldstone houses. For the life of me, I’d never seen anything quite like it. What folks in the East take for granted is a source of wonder for those of us who grew up in much younger cities.
This home, which is currently on the market, is a sight to behold because it has been thoroughly refurbished down to the last detail. The change, however, was not an easy one! To finish such a task, you’ll need a lot of knowledge (and money). In Sergeantsville, New Jersey, this gorgeous stone house shows that such a renovation can yield fantastic results, and it is ready to be renovated.
The present owner, Charles Frischmann, was the best choice to take on the project. As an organist, music professor, historian, and antique collector, Charles had already repaired two stone structures and was ready to take on the third. He’d learned a lot from the previous endeavor, and he didn’t even think about it.
The previous owner has already started some of the work on the restoration. The 10-foot-wide stone fireplace had to be converted into a closet and the panels had to be removed in order to install the wood stove. A big kitchen/dining area was built at the rear of the house using antique barnwood beams in the ceiling and exposing the stone on the interior wall. Because it was once an outdoor entry, it was an entrance to the basement was an exterior entrance.
But that was merely the beginning. It was necessary to replace all of the original window and door frames. “All of the new windows have early glass and are hand-built in the 18th-century manner,” Charles added. He added functional shutters that are so tight they nearly produce a vacuum seal when closed, as well as historical hardware for the doors and windows. To make this period home more energy-efficient, he also installed removable bespoke storm windows inside the frames.
The front doors had been chopped and fitted with windows, which didn’t really work for the house, despite the fact that they were presumably original. The worn jambs were replaced with new doors and period-style paneled doorways to complete the design.
They discovered that someone had done a big restoration to the house early on, perhaps in the 1830s, when they removed the original door frames. The cellar’s floor had been elevated by roughly nine inches, presumably to make extra room. This renovation dates the house closer to the turn of the century, making it one of the oldest remaining houses in Sergeantsville, despite the fact that the owner has not been able to track the house transactions back farther than 1857.
On to the stone walls, then. Although it is widely assumed that the raw stone exteriors were exposed, these walls were considered unattractive rubble unless the builder used “dressed stone,” and only the poorest homeowner would avoid plastering them. In the end, Charles came to the conclusion that at least stucco the front wall to make the house look more appropriate to the period. But in order to please the modern eye, he left the sides of the house exposed.
The rafters needed to be strengthened, as one would expect from a roof that had been in use for 200 years. Because they were splayed by the weight, Charles opted to remove the entire roof. The carpenters winched the rafters back into place after removing the old roof, and then built more rafters that can’t be seen when coming up the steps. To replace the modest porch that originally sheltered the two front doors, he also decided to add a new pent roof; all that was left of the porch was a strangely situated cornice above the doors. The roofs of the penthouse and the house were shingled with cedar shakes, which were cut thicker than is common with today’s materials. The eaves have been given a molded cornice.
This house, like many others from the nineteenth century, has two front doors. There’s a very good explanation why this is the case. The family’s “keeping room” is accessed through one of the doors. The family can relax at the table and chairs in the living area, which also has a large fireplace for cooking. You don’t want to introduce your guests to this room! As a result, there would be a second door leading into the living room, which was most likely only utilized for exceptional occasions.
Jersey Winder – or pie-shaped – stairs lead to the two second-floor bedrooms. Stenciling is used on the floors in the master bedroom and bath, as well as the stairwell. In the upstairs hallway, the uncovered stone wall may still be seen. Unless you touch the upper closet and bathroom doors, you can’t tell the difference between the faux graining.
Sergeantsville is close down the road from Green Sergeant’s Bridge, New Jersey’s sole remaining covered bridge. The settlement is thought to have been founded around 1830, and the bridge was finished around 1750. Route 523, which runs through Sergeantsville, was the original Old York Road that connected Trenton to Flemington and then on to New York. The Delaware Township of Hunterdon County is not far away from this neighborhood.