Federal Aid for New Orleans Historic Preservation

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

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

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

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

The cypress interior doors weathered the flood without warping.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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