It was hairy getting up two flights on a rickety ladder but the view from the top was exhilarating ! Considering the height restrictions on buildings in Calistoga, because of the historic nature of this property we are “grandfathered” and are the exemption to the rule. We can claim our “height” as one of the…
The weather called for a visit on a real “Sun-day”. After a weeklong of rain, this was a welcome sight on the way. A quarter of the trusses are up. More to go. But after many weeks of (seemingly) no developments on the 3rd Floor (rain is to blame) here we are !…
The week long continuous rains that has caused flooding in nearby Yountville and St. Helena has luckily spared the Francis House. I attribute this to our location being far from the larger bodies of water but more because of altitude. Calistoga is 348′ above sea level compared to 253′ for St Helena and 98′ for…
It’s all about the windows this week and boy are they looking fabulous. There are no short cuts in restoration and in the end we won’t be able to tell which one was original (thanks to that magic template).
A friend asked me today how I am enjoying the “dirty” work of construction when she knows the “high” I get from choosing furniture, lights, fabric and all the pretty things. I have been doing that too (backstage though). Since she asked, I will start sharing another side (the better side) of the project. Here…
After 50 years of neglect, some windows still have life in them. The ones that do, we “resuscitated” and then the real work is in replicating these old growth redwood windows and trims by hand, mimicking the way they were done a century ago (without the hair dryer of course). It is tedious work but…
Thank you to all who work, toil, collaborate, support and share with us in this journey of restoration. 2017 is the year the Francis House will morph rapidly into our dream bed & breakfast property. We pray that this time next year, we will be celebrating a new year and opening our doors after 50…
Replicating original decorative trims with redwood and expert woodworkers!