both then and nowWhen does restoration become renovation?
Those who watch us closely will know that for the last year or so we have been doing some serious restoration work on No1. I have been regularly asked “hows the reno going” which has given me cause to articulate what is renovation and what is restoration? Consider the words themselves: to renovate is to renew and to restore is to return something to its previous state. Therefore replacing kitchen cupboards and putting in a new stove is a “reno” so is replacing the shower and retiling the bathroom.
Restoration requires care and understanding. Its helpful if you have some knowledge of a building (or artifacts). An alternative would be to research similar building of the era, not only the date but the style and placement along with availability of materials both then and now. Many Port Fairy cottages while built in the Victorian era are Georgian in style. Settlers and stone masons were wanting to replicate what they had left behind in England not what was contemporary. Access to trades with the understanding and of traditional techniques and the skills to execute them are also part of the story.
Renovation
Restoration
Our restoration story began with a bird who appeared from inside the wall startling my woodman who was stacking the wood pile below. I realized and accepted that the wall needed some repair and by someone who knew what he was doing especially with our soft Port Fairy limestone. I put the word around that I was looking such a person and not long after, early one morning the stone man turned up unannounced on my doorstep.
We first examined the section of the wall where that the bird had highlighted the degree of deterioration of the limestone. Like many of the Port Fairy cottages No1 had been during the 40 – 60’s in a bad state of repair. There was a high level of poverty and many of the cottages had demolition orders on them that had never been lifted. The front had once been rendered and then inexpertly removed in the mid 70’s. The cottage had a coating of cement patches of different colours over a long time. Unfortunately it hadn’t been understood that cement has a negative reaction with lime stone which effectively returns the limestone to sand. Stone cancer. We agreed that the the first priority was to install some (non concrete) patches that would ensure that the wall would, for the time being, be bird roof. Then at some time later more serious work would be done. The time frame was there weeks.
Having talked this through the stone man lent on the truck of our huge Norfolk Pine gazing at the front of the cottage and said “you might think this cottage is pretty now but you should see what I could do to it”. Thus the journey began.
