Federal Aid for New Orleans Historic Preservation

ray kern on his bungalow porch Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Ray Kern sits on the front porch steps of his 1921 Craftsman-style bungalow where he has lived for over 20 years.

cracks in the foundation of the house Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Cracks in the foundation need to be repaired to stabilize Kern's house and to avoid even more damage.

water-damaged cypress siding Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Kern's original cypress siding suffered massive water damage, resulting in numerous fissures.

fractured plaster interior walls Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Fractures in the plaster interior walls extend up towards the ceiling. Kern will hire a craftsman who specializes in plaster repair to do the restoration work.

Bari Landry in front of her home Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Bari Landry stands in front of her 1923 Arts and Crafts style home where she has lived for the past 20 years.

cypress floor in need of refinishing Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Landry's durable cypress floors did not buckle even after being submerged under four feet of floodwater. They need only to be refinished.

cypress interior doors Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

The cypress interior doors weathered the flood without warping.

repaired cracks in plaster wall Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Landry spent the bulk of her grant money on repairing cracks on her plaster walls after she removed the mold herself using bleach.

Kelvin Hewitt in front of his Italianate cottage Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Kelvin Hewitt stands with his two dogs on the front porch of his 19th century Italianate-style shotgun cottage.

front façade and windows Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

The front facade of Hewitt’s home still needs to be repainted, and the broken glass in many of the original windows must be replaced.

arched-top shutters in need of refurnishing Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

The 10-foot-tall arched-top shutters that originally stood alongside the front windows were ripped from the house during the storm. Hewitt will repair, repaint, and re-hang them himself.

arched passageways above white oak floor Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

The original arched passageways remain from when rooms were divided by pocket doors. Hewitt plans to add new insulation and drywall in these rooms before restoring the white oak floors.

Troy Legeaux in front of his shotgun house Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Troy Legeaux stands in front of the 1930s shotgun house where he has lived with his family since 1974.

damaged side porch made of cypress Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Legeaux plans to use cypress boards to restore the side porch that runs the length of the entire house.

water-damaged heartpine floors Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

When he tore out waterlogged carpet and pealing tiles, Legeaux found original heartpine floors buried underneath.

cracks in wall and ceiling plaster Photo: Historic Building Recovery Grant Program

Legeaux taught himself the difficult craft of plasterwork before Hurricane Katrina, and he will patch cracks in the walls and ceilings himself.

Browse Images

How-To Video

Browse More

How to Repair Shingle Siding

In this how-to video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shares his secrets of installing cedar shingles

On Newsstands Now

 

In the Magazine


Easy Upgrades That Say Welcome Home

overall kitchen remodel how to build a bar bedroom remodel this old house editor Scott Omelianuk desk and bookshelf

New Orleans homeowners who were denied federal grants to restore their historic properties got some good news today: Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitchell Landrieu announced that Congress had approved a second round of funding that will give the residents a chance to share $10 million in preservation aid.

Landrieu has been lobbying for the added funding since 2006, when a $12.5 million allotment ran dry after serving just 289 of the more than 1,200 applicants who qualified.

"This next round of Hurricane Recovery Grants will help people in South Louisiana rebuild their homes and help our neighborhoods recover in a meaningful way," says Landrieu. "My office is ready to get this additional funding into the hands of Louisiana homeowners quickly, so that our rebuilding can move forward." That means beginning in early September, contacting applicants who were previously identified as priority candidates, but were turned down for funding due to the budget shortfall, to start reviewing their proposed projects.

The grants are important to New Orleans, which has more historic properties per capita than any other American city with over 35,000 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. When Katrina's floodwaters swamped the city, many of those old homes, schools, and cultural institutions were left in near ruins.

To help restore those buildings, Landrieu, along with The National Trust for Historic Preservation, asked Congress for disaster relief money specifically earmarked for preservation. Lawmakers responded by awarding the $12.5 million to the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office.

The office then started doling out grants just 45 days after the homeowners' applications for assistance were due. The timeline is remarkable considering that two years after the storm thousands of New Orleans residents are still waiting on insurance or other federal aid money. Grant recipients, who got between $5,000 and $45,000 apiece, immediately got started shoring up damaged foundations, replacing roofs, mending cracked plaster walls and refinishing old wood floors. But the money ran out with a long line of applicants still waiting.

With the new allotment moving through the system, the first batch of grant recipients are still making repairs. It hasn’t been easy, though. Meet four homeowners and see how they are overcoming the immense challenge of rebuilding their houses—and their lives.

Page:
1
2
3
4
5
Next
Article: Hurricane Safety Lessons Learned From Past Storms

Add new comment

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, report the comment to us.

1000 characters remaining

Need More Info? Ask a question on Safety & Prevention

AMERICA'S MOST TRUSTED HOME IMPROVEMENT BRAND