while? size, was the dining room alcove, which would have had this soft light filtering from above. That system had leaked and so previous owners had covered it with 6” of concrete and four different ceiling materials. We took all that out and rebuilt the floor structure and covered it with transparent Lexan to walk on with another layer below to help with insulation. We had already seen some cracks in the huge, overhanging roofs which lacked sufficient drainage holes. No wonder there were leaks. Years later, all this was fully addressed. More gutter spouts were added and the roof was patched. Old roofs were removed and a new roof with single- ply-membrane gutter linings installed, a costly repair If partners are willing, some habits can be unlearned and some things can be changed. So it was with this house. We were willing to put up with the pillars, but not the leaks. We had done some restoration work on our 1740 Cape Cod house in Massachusetts in the sixties, but here we had Mr. Wright looking over our shoulders. Our master bedroom balcony had originally been in the five figures. (So a single woman, without much earning capabilities, had to go to the bank for a loan.) But, before the new roof was started, the redundant porch pillars were removed and the front cantilever was liberated. The unobstructed view from the end of the living room and the porch was finally restored. An immense improvement. It was such a joy to have that cantilever set free and soaring again and the house resembling its 1906 photographs as
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker