18th Century Restorations

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18th Century Restorations

We specialize in period correct restoration and preservation maintenance of historic structures.

05/11/2026

Fabricating and setting a plank window jamb as part of the masonry stabilization/reconstruction of Allianceng house in Farmstead Park The remaining masonry jamb has a plaster fossil and a lower ear pocket of the long-missing structural window frame (seen in the third photo).
There’s much information to be gleaned from these often-overlooked clues. We can surmise the depth and height of the stock used for the missing jamb from the height of the ear pocket and the width of the band of exposed stone. Using this evidence, along with the location of the base of the opposite masonry pier and the height of the plaster fossil indicated, the was 2 six-light sashes in frame using 4-inch x 4-inch stock. In this case, we left the ears on the reproduction, as the original builders did, so our mason can capture them in the stonework, tying the sapele window to the stonework as it was done in the early .

Be sure to swipe through all the photos for the whole process

05/03/2026

Be sure to swipe all the way through to see the process culminate in the paint-ready finished result.

Following scant evidence, a couple of original fragments, some paint lines, plaster fossils, and a few open mortises gave us enough information to recreate the first-floor staircase cladding and handrail.
The fragments found during deconstruction included several pieces of the feather-edge paneling with paint lines matching the rise and run of the original first-floor stair, a piece of a post wrap with a paint outline of the handrail, and a mortise in the floor confirming the newel post size.

We clad the stairs with newly-milled, hand-planed poplar paneling, matching the original examples. Capped it with a period typical bullnosed cap to receive the balusters, whose profile was copied from a nearby house of a similar period. This assembly is all topped with the handrail, also in poplar.

Floating tenons of various sizes and methods were used to ensure this atypical handrail will stand up to daily tours. We used a large floating slip tenon to join the handrail to the newel firmly. This juncture was then concealed by wrapping the top of the post with a bisected handrail profile. We joined the sheathing cap, balusters, and handrail using smaller floating tenons. The smaller tenons were dominos; choosing this modern joinery system focused our skilled craftspeople’s time on the visible parts of the stair without compromising the strength of the entire assembly.

Keep your eyes peeled for more posts of the swain-neck, post wrap, and the second-floor stair. Along with the remaining project details.

04/26/2026

A bathtub leak in a long-time client’s early 19th-century home signaled it was time to design and install a sympathetic replacement for the 1980s bathroom. The bathroom was in the typical place for a center hall house, the storage room at the front end of the hall on the second floor. During the selective demo, we discovered that the room was originally finished with hand-planed tongue-and-groove boards, along with the typical dampened framing. After lifting and straightening the original floor system, we laid resawn yellow pine flooring to match the damaged existing floor, restored and refitted the original door and rim lock. We designed a bathroom that made the space feel open with a custom vanity to complement the utilitarian trunk room.

Swipe to the end to see the before

04/22/2026

At Farmstead Park in Upper Moreland Township, we replaced the later brick with stone, as it was originally constructed. Now the walls of the early spring house, awaiting framing and . For the framing, we are using sawn locust joists and white oak rafters and plates, both species being native to southeastern Pennsylvania. Locust was selected for the joists because of its natural resistance to rotting in moisture-rich environments. The masonry openings are awaiting the reproduction of their mortise-and-tenoned sapele plank window and door jambs.

Stay tuned for more updates

04/21/2026

Wesley Noonan-Sessa, COO of 18th Century Restorations recently installed the crown molding above the paneled chimneybreast in the office of Frederick Muhlenberg, first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Frederick’s office is the only room with crown molding aside from the main stairhall, as evidenced by plaster lines from the original construction in the 1760s. This architectural detail speaks to the significance of these highly visible, more public spaces.

04/20/2026

The first part of an ongoing facade restoration, a Antiques Row gem, is the brim of the hat or the cornice. This building started as a speculative townhouse development in the 1830s/40s, which the top two floors, including the represent. Swipe back through to see our process of recreating a dignified cornice, even with its value-engineered crown molding. The last picture shows two of its neighbors with their surviving molding buildup. Current conditions require us to design understated end caps, as their direct neighbors lack their original cornices. We also introduced a disguised soffit vent behind the drop of the fascia using Cora-a-Vent.

Stay tuned for more updates on this project: resetting and structuring the original front and restoring the storefront.

04/14/2026

We cleared away the mess of construction in front of the chamber in the Speaker’s House on the second floor for Historic Trappe ‘s dedication last weekend. During Frederick Muhlenberg’s stewardship of the structure, this space served as a meeting and courtroom for Montgomery County after its founding in 1784, until the county seat was moved to Norristown.
All its woodwork is complete and coated with Prussian blue primer by . The blue was found on architectural fragments identified as from the space encountered during the deconstruction process. This particular shade of blue was a way of showing one’s wealth, as it was one of the most expensive pigments in 1763, when the house was built.
The antique spring latch and “HL” hinges provided by . Spring latches were chosen for this interpretation based on the keeper evidence from surviving door jambs and the social strata for which this vernacular mansion was built.
The surviving plaster has been patched, and the areas that needed to be completely plastered are in the final scratch coat, awaiting their finish coat.
In dedication, a copy of the Rising Sun Chair was placed in the room in recognition of the fact that Frederick was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives.

For the dedication, we temporarily hung the chandeliers provided by in their final locations. Don’t worry, we took them down before continuing plastering.

The final two photos are how the space looked when we started the project in mid-December 2025. Stay tuned for shots after the plaster and paint.

04/13/2026

In preparation for the dedication of the Speaker’s House this weekend, it gives us a glimpse of what the finished product will be. Throughout the house, the interior woodwork is finished except for a few details. Two spaces are finished with plaster: the attic and the bedroom; the rest of the blue board is awaiting its skim coats. Apart from the halls, the remaining original plaster has been patched in.

Through the door is a preview of the cladding and rail of the stair tower. We have more stair content coming.

Last, we have the east gable to get the shutters swinging, then held back with their hooks. Through the front door, the paneled jamb is peeking out.

04/12/2026

There are 6 pictures in this one; swipe through to the end for the payoff, followed by a pup

A fragment found during deconstruction was a piece of the flitted post wrap that encased a main support post of the main stair. (keep your eyes peeled for more on the wrap) There was a seemingly inconsequential unpainted spot. This patch of oxidized wood, shaped like the handrail, terminates at the flutes at a 90-degree angle. This, along with the height of the witness mark off of the last tread before the shooting stair’s winding turn, is evidence that the rail terminated with a swan neck.

The first three pictures document the fabrication of this elegant way to end a handrail, from blocking it out to its attachment to the straight runs of rail, using traditional joinery.

The fourth picture shows Dan bisecting this section, where it will lap the casing of the opening in the second-floor joist system and overlay the interior of the stair enclosure on the second floor.

Come to the dedication weekend April 11th & 12th from 12 to 4 pm to see how much of Frederick Muhlenberg we have finished!

04/11/2026

We have six pictures; the last four are from the interpretative and reconstruction process. So swipe through!

The entry hall of the Speaker’s House is capped off with an atypical cornice.
There were three bits of evidence that we were able to glean enough information to reproduce the cornice; fossil left at the top of the stone gable wall, a paint lines found on the reused fragments of the casing that wrapped the summer beam where it broke the plane of the hall ceiling (photo no. 3) and a piece of frieze a paint shadow of dentals.
There are several funky aspects of the cornice. The original builders chose to use the same profile and size as the exterior cornice rather than scaling down the molding, so the trim work is in scale with the space. Due to an undetermined condition, they were forced to install the crown at a flatter angle than usual.
The paint and plaster witness marks on a surviving fascia from the beam wrap show that the top flat of the crown was buried in the plaster.
Notching the crown molding around the casing of the main girt is a vernacular solution to a condition they weren’t familiar with, showing the ambition of the original joiners.

Come to the dedication on April 11th & 12th from 12 to 4 pm to see how much of Frederick Muhlenberg we have finished!

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Pottstown, PA
19465

Website

http://www.18thcenturyrestoration.com/

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