Farmhouse re-sided, Pietrorazio thanked

#Middlebury #FennFarm #BrookdaleFarm #MiddleburyLandTrust

Standing in front of the newly re-sided farmhouse at Brookdale Farm are, left to right, lifetime resident Robert Fenn, LPOS Chairman Raymond Pietrorazio and Eagle View Construction owners Bari Meka and Nick Ellis. (Terrence S. McAuliffe photos)

Editor’s Note: Brookdale Farm (Fenn Farm) Tour Saturday, Sept. 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Rain Date Oct. 7) Tour Brookdale Farm at 55 Artillery Road in Middlebury with Rob Fenn; then enjoy some refreshments. 

By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE

The farmhouse at Brookdale Farm (aka Fenn Farm) is looking like new after it was re-sided and painted in August by Eagle View Construction LLC of Watertown, a firm owned by Bari Meka and Nick Ellis. The project was overseen at no charge by Land Preservation and Open Space Commission (LPOS) chairman Raymond Pietrorazio, who was thanked for his service by the LPOS.

The re-siding job included installation of dark green shutters which lifetime resident Robert Fenn said had been gone for about 40 years. Repainting the weather-beaten farmhouse was discussed as far back as May 2013, but deciding how to proceed was challenging. At some point, the clapboards had been treated with linseed oil. That meant paint would not adhere properly, and removing the oil from the clapboards before they could be painted was estimated to cost as much as $25,000 and have no guarantee of paint adherence according to consultants from Benjamin Moore, Sherman William, and Rhino Shield.

Vinyl siding was considered an undesirable alternative in October 2016. Finally, at the March 1, 2017 meeting, LPOS members voted to get an estimate for re-siding with red cedar clapboards instead of re-siding with vinyl or attempting an expensive sanding and repainting.

As many as eight people worked on the job at the same time, Meka said, particularly at the beginning when the crew worked its way around the house removing the existing clapboards from the sheathing and installing the Tyvec® wrap.

Fenn described the sheathing as “big wide boards” and Meka remarked, “It was as if they ran a big tree through a (carpenter’s) plane.” Fenn said most of the sheathing was still solid, but small areas were rotted and some had been eaten away by carpenter ants. He said the main part of the house was built in 1853, but other sections were much older.

Pietrorazio said the whole house needed power washing to remove mold. He said no windows were replaced, although he had been prepared to write change orders if they were needed. Pietrorazio said the project included badly needed repair of areas where a previously replaced roof meets the building. The wraparound corner porch and railings were scraped, sanded, and painted white, and a double coat of gray paint was put on the deck floor. The only thing that wasn’t painted, according to Meka, was the original wood porch ceiling, which was left natural.

See the re-siding process in the following four photos. The article continues below them.

A view of the South side of the farmhouse before removal of the old clapboards shows the peeling paint. This was not the worst side of the house.

Workers are removing the old clapboards from the farmhouse, revealing the sheathing.

The old clapboards have been removed and the house wrapped in Tyvec in preparation for installation of the new red cedar clapboards.

The finished project after the new clapboards have been installed and painted, and the porch was painted. Dark green shutters again flank the windows after an absence of 40 years.

The $33,400 re-siding contract, signed on July 28, was the result of a joint partnership with the Middlebury Land Trust (MLT). A memo of understanding between MLT attorney Curt Titus and town attorney Dana D’Angelo stated the contract would be between the MLT and the contractor, with the MLT overseeing the project to preserve its conservation interests and LPOS Chairman Pietrorazio acting as the clerk of the works.

The Town’s share of the siding contract was $20,000, paid on completion of the work. The work included removing and disposing of the existing clapboard, installing Tyvec® air infiltration wrap over the house sheathing, installing ½-by-6-inch finger-jointed and primed cedar siding with the rough side out, and installing aluminum flashing where required. The paint was Benjamin Moore oil-based exterior primer and white oil-based clapboard and trim paint.

LPOS members showed their appreciation to Pietrorazio at the Sept. 6 meeting, when they unanimously voted a resolution of thanks to him. It acknowledged the time and effort he put into the project, including daily monitoring, reviewing and inspecting of the work once it got under way, and thanked him for “bringing this critical and noteworthy project to a most successful completion.”

LPOS member Malcolm Todt said Pietrorazio’s voluntary oversight of the project saved thousands of dollars in project management costs.

The next regular LPOS meeting will be Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. at Shepardson Community Center.