LAURA SMARRITO

ARROTT STREET DORMERS

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In collaboration with Chris Simmons of Heritage Builders and Remodelers, LLC and Anthony "Tony" Brown, we repaired, remediated, or completely rebuilt 9 dormer windows on this 1835 home in the Frankford Neighborhood of Philadelphia. Chris has an encyclopedic knowledge of historic building techniques used in the area. He got a moulding planer and had custom knives made so that we could reproduce the original trim, much of which had been damaged by weather and insects. Tony is a super skilled carpenter who bent the copper sill pans and who I worked with to mill and install the trim. Chris jointed one board that the carpenter bees went to town on and you could see all their little tunnels. 

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BROWN STREET GATE

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I replaced an old gate with a new one made of cedar. I just had to make let-in braces to keep it square and functioning for a long long time. It's finished with Boiled Linseed Oil for long lasting protection and ease of maintenance.

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26th STREET WINDOWS

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I rebuild the frames and trim, as well as refinishing and reglazing the sashes. I bought the cedar from Justin Wright at Wright Angle Woodworking. The replacement spiral balances were bought locally from Strybuc Industries in Sharon Hill. With the help of the incredible, Kirby McKenzie, I installed the windows from the inside and installed new drip caps and the trim on the outside. PSA: You can call PECO to install insulation around service lines any time you need to work near them. It's free! 

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49th STREET DOORS & TRANSOM

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These gorgeous Chestnut doors came out of a house in Wildwood, NJ. They had some damage from years of use, but nothing a creative little dutchman can't handle. I refinished the doors, fabricated pre-hung jambs, and hung the doors so that they operate like butter. The transom window is a rescued divided lite window that I re-glazed and re-finished. I can't take credit for that beautiful trim work -- that's all Grace Gallagher. 

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HEART SHAPED DUTCHMAN

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I work with a lot of old doors which have seen a lot of life. I'm always looking for clever ways to patch and repair them. It's hard to find clear vertical grain wood to manufacture new doors -- I prefer to keep the old ones going for as long as I can. This door had a hole for a deadbolt that needed patched, so I opted to make it a bit cutesy.

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RITTENHOUSE STREET WINDOWS

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These window frames are evocative of the original windows but meant to fit a modern replacement window. The window trim was milled to match the originals. The original windows were built in a very old style -- before the use sash weights -- and were made of heavy timbers which also acted as a lintel. Water intrusion eventually caused these to fail, but 150+ years on, so we give them a pass.

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