Prime for Renovation
Published April 2014
Price: $0
Location: Warren, Ohio
Contact: Matt Martin, 330-599-9275
The History: Lumber merchant William Kernohan was a man of big ideas: In addition to owning an extremely successful lumberyard, he has been credited with dreaming up the agitating washing machine, which he patented just before the turn of the 20th century. But nowhere was his ambition more apparent than in his design for this stately Queen Anne mansion, which he and his wife, Susan, built in 1887 on one of Warren’s most affluent streets. Kernohan lived here for just over a decade, then sold the place to Alfred Hughes, the owner of a local boiler company. Hughes and his wife, Jennie, raised two children here. They kept the house until the 1950s. Since then, it has had a half-dozen owners, many of whom have failed to maintain it properly. Vacant since 2006, the house was bought in 2012 by the Trumbull County Land Bank, which is offering it for free to anyone with a plan—and the means—to restore the home in accordance with its guidelines.
Shown: The 5,561-square-foot house has four bedrooms and five baths and sits on a little less than an acre near the center of town.
Elaborate Woodwork
Why Save It? The detailed exterior retains its large turret, slate roof, and turned porch columns. The interior is embellished with elaborate leaded glass, slate and marble fireplaces, and mahogany woodwork in the entryway.
Shown: Kernohan’s lumberyard provided the elaborate mahogany columns, staircase, and crown molding found in the entryway.
Preserving original woodwork like this mahogany requires careful attention. On a This Old House brownstone restoration, carpenter Norm Abram and the team used carefully selected mahogany replacements for deteriorated trim, noting that mahogany is “much more stable so that should hold up a little bit better” than softer woods—an important consideration for maintaining period millwork over the long term.
Costly, But Rewarding Job
What It Needs: The house is structurally sound but requires significant repairs and updates to all the systems as well as the roof. Many of the plaster walls need work. The city of Warren is about an hour east of Cleveland. Restoring the house is a costly job, but with an asking price of $0, you’ll have a good head start on saving.
Plaster repair is one of the biggest cost drivers in restoring homes of this era. On a previous This Old House project, the team discovered that what appeared to be minor water damage beneath double windows had actually caused the finished plaster coat to separate from the wall entirely — a two-coat plaster job where the layers were coming apart. Identifying the source of the moisture, whether from the windowsill or a failing gutter, is critical before any plaster restoration begins.
Beyond plaster and roofing, restoring a Queen Anne often means addressing hidden structural and energy issues. On similar This Old House projects, crews have found homes with no insulation in the walls, settled piers in the foundation, and rotted support posts — all of which must be addressed before cosmetic work begins. As one contractor noted during an inspection of a comparable home, the plastered ceilings alone may need full replacement where water damage has taken hold.
Shown: A detail on one of the Corinthian columns in the entryway.
Built-In Storage Cabinets
Cabinets are built into many of the home’s walls.
Leaded-Glass Transoms
The living room’s bay windows are fitted with leaded-glass transoms.
Non-Functioning Elevator
This elevator was installed by Alfred Hughes in 1926 and was serviced well into the 1980s. It no longer functions.
Homeowners considering restoring a vintage residential elevator should know that construction and installation of a modern replacement can take 5 to 10 weeks and involve putting up walls, cutting holes through the floor, and building a pit in the basement, according to This Old House Magazine. Elevator consultant Cohodas recommends a minimum interior cab size of 3 by 4½ feet — translating to roughly 750 pounds capacity — and advises: “If anybody is in a wheelchair, you want to make sure they’re comfortable.” He also cautions to “avoid units with proprietary gizmos that could be expensive to replace.”
Built-In Dresser Storage
A built-in dresser and shelves enhance a second-floor bedroom.
Original Fireplace Surround Details
A slate fireplace surround retains the original marbleized paint finish.
