9-D-23-HZ

Level II: Fourth And Gill H

Approved With Conditions

Recommendation

Recognizing that non-contributing buildings are evaluated for their impact on the historic district and not evaluated as infill construction, the Commission should discuss the proposed project's exterior rehabilitation and identify whether any additional design elements are necessary to acknowledge the building's evolution. Staff recommends at least one additional design element be incorporated that acknowledges the original form of the building, which could be expressed in the front porch roofline.

The Commission should also discuss the proposed siding materials; staff recommends that based on neighborhood precedent, exterior materials be wood lap siding and trim elements instead of fiber cement.

Additional conditions of approval should include: 1) final window specifications of windows, front door, and deck materials to be submitted to staff for approval.

Applicant Request

Architectural feature; Doors; Material changes; Porch; Roofing; Siding; Windows

- Exterior rehabilitation. Applicant proposes removal of the existing non-historic roofline, siding, windows, and doors. Exterior of the house is proposed to be largely reconstructed with a pitched front-gable roof clad in asphalt shingles, an exterior of fiber cement lap siding with cornerboards and window trim, and cedar shingles in the gable fields. Windows will be installed in new fenestrations on the façade, left side elevation, rear elevation, and upper gable fields.
- The façade (southwest) will feature a centrally-located, multi-light door flanked by sidelight windows and topped by transoms, and paired one-over-one, double-hung windows (no materials provided) on the two outside bays. The left side elevation will feature five bays of four-over-four, double-hung windows. One-over-one, double-hung windows with trim are located in each gable field. On the rear elevation, two sets of multi-light double doors and a third door will open onto a deck. The deck features steel supports and a horizontal steel railing, and an unspecified composite decking.
- A hipped-roof porch supported by square posts is proposed to extend the full-length of the façade.
- CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL PER 10/19/2023 HZC MEETING: Modification dated 10.16.23 with two gables on front porch roof approved; 1) final window specifications of windows, front door, and deck materials to be submitted to staff for approval; 2) siding to be wood.

Fourth and Gill H

- Style: Shotgun houses combined to form a vernacular commercial building, c.1900
  - One-story commercial building with a gable roof, featuring a large wood parapet on the façade. Exterior is clad in vertical wood siding and windows are single-light, fixed panes on the front and left side elevations. The front door is recessed between two projecting massings on the outside bays.

Applicable Guidelines

Fourth and Gill Design Guidelines, adopted by the Knoxville City Council on April 20, 1999 and June 29, 1999.

- Roofs:
- 1. The shape and pitch of roofs on new construction should imitate the shape and pitch of roofs on neighboring existing houses or other houses of the same architectural style. Replacement roofs should copy the shape and pitch of original roofs, and the soffit, fascia and trim detail between roof and wall should mimic the original.
- 3. Repair or replace roof details (chimneys, roof cresting, finials, attic vent windows, molding, and other unique roof features). Use some of these details in designing new buildings.
- 4. Materials used in roofing existing buildings or new construction should duplicate the original roofing materials if possible. Asphalt or fiberglass shingles can be appropriate, as are slate, standing seam metal or metal shingle roof coverings. The color of roofing materials should be a dark green, charcoal gray, black or dark reddish brown to simulate the original roof colors.
- Windows:
- 1. Vinyl and aluminum replacement windows should not be used.
- 2. Original windows should be reused. It will be much less expensive and much better historically to retain the original windows.
- 4. If replacement windows are necessary, they should be the same overall size as the originals, with the same pane division, and the same muntin style and exterior depth, width and profile. False muntins or grids should not be used.
- 7. It can be appropriate to design and install additional windows on the rear or another secondary elevation. The designs should be compatible with the overall design of the building.
- Porches:
- 1. Repair porches on historic houses using wood floors, balustrades, posts and columns, or replace duplicating the original size and design. Reconstruction of the documented original porch is also appropriate.
- 3. New front porches in Fourth and Gill must be large enough to provide seating, i.e., six to eight feet in depth.
- Entrances:
- 1. Entry features that should be preserved include sidelights and transoms of plain, patterned, beveled or stained glass, fan light windows, entablatures, and the original doors. All add character to the structures within the Fourth and Gill Historic District.
- 2. It may be appropriate to design or construct a new entrance if the historic one is missing. Any restoration should be based on historical, pictorial and physical documentation and should be compatible with the historic character of the building and with adjacent buildings. It should not create a false historic appearance. Entrances should not be removed when rehabilitating a building, either in adapting to a new use or continuing a historic one.
- 3. Service (rear or side) entrances should not be altered to make them appear to be formal entrances by adding paneled doors, fanlights or sidelights.
- 4. Secondary entrances should be compatible with the originals in size, scale or materials but should not give the appearance of a primary entrance.
- 7. Missing doors should be replaced with new doors appropriate for the style and period of the building. In replacing missing original doors, replacement doors should mimic doors typical for that architectural style, including materials, glazing, and pane configuration. Solid six panel or flush wood or steel design doors should only be used for entrances not visible from the public street. "Decorator" designed doors available from wholesale hardware stores are usually not appropriate for the architectural styles of the Fourth & Gill Historic District.
- Wall Coverings:
- 2. Replacement siding should duplicate the original. Trim and patterned shingles should also duplicate the original.
- 4. Repair wooden features by patching, piecing-in, or otherwise reinforcing the wood. Repair may also include limited replacement with matching or with other compatible substitute materials, when elements remain and can be copied.
- 5. Wood features that are important in defining the overall historic character of the building should not be removed.
- 6. Replace only the deteriorated wood. Reconstructing in order to achieve a uniform or "improved" appearance is inappropriate because good historic materials can be lost.
- 7. An entire wooden feature that is too deteriorated to repair or is completely missing should be replaced in kind. If features are replaced, the materials they are made from should be compatible with the original in size, scale, and material. Replacement parts should be based on historical, pictorial, and physical documentation.
- 11. The removal of synthetic sidings such as aluminum, asbestos and vinyl and the restoration of the original siding is highly encouraged.
- 12. Siding or pressboard or particle board, and vertical siding (including T-111) is not appropriate for primary structures in the Fourth & Gill Historic District and should not be used.
- New Additions:
- 1. Locate attached exterior additions at the rear or on an inconspicuous side of a historic building, limiting the size and scale in relationship to the historic building. Proportion is very important.
- 2. Design new additions in a manner that makes clear what is historic and what is new.
- 3. Consider the attached exterior addition both in terms of the new use and the appearance of other buildings in the historic district. Design for the new work may be contemporary or may reference design motifs from the historic buildings. In either case, it should always be clearly differentiated from the historic building and be compatible in terms of mass, materials, size, texture, scale, relationship of solids to voids, and color.
- 4. Place new additions, such as balconies or solar greenhouses, on non-character-defining elevations, and limit the size and scale in relationship to the historic building.
- 7. New work should not appear to be as old as the historic building. Do not duplicate the exact form, material, style, and detailing of the historic building in the new addition.
- 8. New additions should not cause a lessening or loss of historic character, including the historic building's design, materials, workmanship, location, or setting.