A Place in History

Balding Brothers recently completed a remodeling project for Charles and Lynne Boney at their home on South Front Street, in the heart of Wilmington’s Historic District. The house was built circa 1892 and it was extremely important to everyone involved that the remodel blended seamlessly with the rest of the house.

The main goals of the project included:
• Expanding the office on the first floor
• Replacing an outside stairwell that leads to a landing and an apartment over the back of the house
• Adding a large exterior porch that spans the length of the house
• Adding a new detached two car garage with workshop and attic storage space
• Replacing an old deteriorating driveway with an exposed aggregate concrete driveway with brick borders
• Landscaping the backyard

The project started by removing an existing rear staircase and ultimately replacing it with a staircase hung from a new structural beam that supports the second floor of the main house. The staircase and upper porch boards float above a unique roofing and drainage system that allows water to drain down the stairwell. “Creating a landing that would act both as an outside porch for the upstairs apartment and a ceiling for the office downstairs was an exciting challenge for us and it turned out great” says Ian Balding. The benefit of this system is that it allowed the homeowners to construct an exterior porch and staircase directly over the new office below.

The next phase of the remodel focused on the structure of the back of the house and the floors in the existing office. As commonly seen in older homes, there had been settling of the rear foundations. Balding Brothers leveled the floors in the office and replaced rotten sills across the back of the house. The entire back of the house was temporarily supported with wooden cribbing and hydraulic jacks which allowed for the old sills and brick piers to be removed. New sills and a continuous foundation were installed to prevent further settling.

Next we turned our focus on the outside of the house. The addition of the rear porch is aesthetically appealing and adds a lot of usable space for the homeowners to comfortably enjoy their backyard. Both the floor and the ceiling of the new porch are stunning; the floor is brick in a herringbone pattern, the ceiling is a Carolina Blue bead board and the roof is a true terne metal standing seam roof. The end result is a beautiful covered porch that spans the length of the house and can be used for both relaxing and entertaining. Ian Balding goes on to say “the detailed trim work on the porch columns and exposed rafter tails are another one of the many really nice aspects of this project - these details add so much depth and visual interest.”

The third phase of the project consisted of constructing a new detached garage where a large tin garage/shed used to stand. The new structure is very functional by design with room for two cars, a workshop and attic space for storage. The exterior of the structure matches the main house perfectly. The Boney’s also chose custom garage doors resembling carriage house doors made of extremely durable and long lasting composite materials.

The final stage consisted of bringing it all together with final touches that truly bring the aesthetic beauty of this property to life. By regrading the rear yard and constructing a brick retaining wall, the lawn in the back of the house now gently slopes from the garage to the new porch. American Hollies, Dwarf Yaupons and Tea Olives now fill generous planting beds and the installation of St. Augustine sod completes the landscaping for this beautiful historic, downtown home.

As Nick Balding reflected on the Boney’s remodeling project, he said “both Charles and Lynne were fabulous to work with. Charles is an architect and designed the project himself. His design included many great details that really helped give the final product a clean and customized look.” The Balding brothers are thrilled to have been involved with this remodel. The final product is both extremely functional and aesthetically pleasing. The new additions flow naturally from the main house and are in harmony with the original character and architecture of the home.

“We selected Balding Brothers because we had confidence in their ability to produce quality work. I knew that this addition, particularly the back porch and stairs, would be like building a watch because every piece had to be carefully measured and cut. They performed this difficult task with the ease of old-world craftsmanship. We were happy to see Balding Brothers arrive every morning, and just a little sad to see them leave when the work was complete.” Charles H. Boney, FAIA, Vice President, LS3P Associates Ltd., Architects

“This is our last remodeling on a house we have experimented with, painted, remodeled, and loved for 25 years. We’ve been planning this porch and garage since we bought the house in 1986. Balding Brothers exceeded our expectations with this wonderful addition. We could not have selected a better contractor for this project.” Charles and Lynne Boney