311 East Lane Street was built for Frank E. Weathers, a cotton buyer, between 1907 and 1909. He resided with his family at 304 N. Person Street and built this house in the back yard. The first resident was clerk Thaddeus H. Stevenson. Fast forward to the 21st century – 2016 – and the unique situation involving two residences on one property required a subdivision of the lot into two. In December of that year, the house and its newly formed lot was sold by Frank Weathers’ granddaughter, Anne Fleming Hunter, to general contractor Robert Von Doster for his personal residence; and, restoration immediately ensued. The house was in desperate need of renovation/restoration/repair from top to bottom – both interior and exterior. Almost all of the house’s historic fabric was still in place, allowing Robert Von Doster’s company, VonDoster Restoration & Construction, LLC, to have the existing elements preserved or replicated as required in order to maintain the property’s historic charm.
Leaning severely due to a structural beam at the rear of the house having been cut by plumbers more than 70 years ago, the structure needed to be raised 8” in some areas to level the floors; and, new structural supports and piers were added to meet engineering requirements. Exterior work included the front porch, back porch, roof, chimney, replacement trim, and exterior paint. The front porch was completely removed and rebuilt from the ground up, including new framing and decking. New replicated handrails were milled and installed and existing posts were re-installed. The back porch was rebuilt and converted into conditioned space as a laundry/mud room. New windows were installed in this area and a salvaged historic exterior door was installed while all of the original windows – with original glass – were repaired and made operable again. A new architectural shingle roof was installed over the whole house. The main chimney was pointed up and repaired as needed. All original trim elements were re-milled and replaced, including crown moldings and band boards. Damaged siding was replaced in-kind and the entire house was coated in a bonding primer then painted by hand. Skirt panels were replaced along foundation walls with the addition of lattice below the front and rear porches for ventilation of the crawl space.
Interior work included structural reinforcements per an engineer’s requirements, including steel beams in some of the ceilings between floors along with reframing some floors and walls. Existing mantels were salvaged, restored and reinstalled while new tile was installed at each of the four fireplace hearths and fireboxes. In fact, fifteen layers of paint were removed to reveal the gorgeous original walnut mantel and its original mirror. Original hardwood floors throughout 85% of the house were restored with new hardwood floors installed in one bedroom and in the downstairs kitchen. The downstairs bathroom was reframed and expanded under the stairs to double its size. All interior systems were upgraded, including plumbing, electrical, HVAC, including new bathrooms and new fixtures throughout. Even the original claw foot tub – which did not work with the new bath configurations – was repurposed as a water garden on the rear yard.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2019 Anthemion Award to Eva Alexander; VonDoster Restoration & Construction, LLC; P. E. Teague, PE, LLC for the Residential Rehabilitation of the Frank E. Weathers House, 311 East Lane Street, Raleigh