A record of what we have taken on and what we did with it.

541 Byers Road — Chester Springs, Pennsylvania

1840s stone farmhouse, full restoration

The house is older than the record says. Public records list a construction date and materials that do not match what is actually standing. The structure is pre-1840 stone, clad later in Federal-style wood. Establishing that first changed how we approached everything after it.

Structure. We set a laminated veneer lumber beam, an engineered beam built up from thin bonded layers of wood, into a load-bearing wall to carry the floor above, and corrected framing connections through the house. A rotted corner of the Victorian box cornice was rebuilt by sistering new stock to sound original wood and reconstructing the fanned geometry of the original profile rather than replacing the run with modern trim.

Systems. New roof, new heating and cooling, rewired throughout, plus a rear deck and finished landscaping.

What we kept. Behind the plaster we found pencil inscriptions on the chimney dating to the mid-1850s. We photographed them under raking light, a lamp held almost flat to the surface, which throws the faded graphite into relief, recorded what they said, and left them where they were.

More projects to follow.