Restoration of the Andrews-Duncan House (ca 1879) was an immense undertaking to preserve and rehabilitate the property at 407 N. Blount St. The home is located in the North Blount St Historic District and is a Raleigh Historic Landmark. The new owners demonstrated courage when they agreed to purchase the historic property after it sat vacant under major threat of demolition due to years of neglect. The restoration was completed with respect to the historic covenants placed on the property upon the sale by the State of NC.
The project included demolishing non-original additions and constructing a new sunroom with an adjacent covered porch improving connectivity. The stone foundation of the original side porch was found intact underneath the non-original addition and was retained to house the new sunroom. Other modifications included door and window alterations, demolition of non-original work and a lowered basement floor with taller ceilings and exposed foundation walls.
This restoration project lasted four years and every effort was made to restore instead of replace. The large arched windows were removed, hand-scraped, repaired and re-glazed onsite. An existing maple tree was preserved by hand-digging footings that threatened the root system. All original doors inside the house were reused, and the Northeast Gable “dragon’s tongue” brackets have been meticulously restored with two being newly constructed replicas. This project has inspired the entire community and perhaps encourages others to restore rather than destroy.
Fun fact - during construction, a beehive was found within the exterior walls and a local beekeeper was called to safely relocate the hive. Eight gallons of honey was extracted!
Swipe to see the completed restoration, some pre-renovation photos, and a few of the beehive that was discovered.
Photographed by: JR Photography
