The crew at CenterBeam Construction have all worked hard to bring back the life in historic homes for over 11 years in the Jacksonville, Florida area. So, to be recognized as the winner of the 2018 Riverside Avondale Preservation Award was a big accomplishment and a feather in their (hard) hats. Here’s the complete story:

This two story 1909 historic home, was in absolute chaos when we arrived on site. All of the original baseboards, picture rail, doors, hardware and lighting had been removed and thrown away. It reminded me of a cake stripped of it’s beautiful icing. It was overwhelming at first, but soon after a plan was formed with the homeowner and we were able to reach the core of it’s natural beauty. We found the original photos of the house through RAP (Riverside Avondale Preservation) archives and found that a few doors had glass transoms. With all new doors and custom jambs built on site, we were able to add beautiful door transoms which created a lot of natural additional hallway light. We stuck to the original design features of the house by building 9” baseboards, installing all new 5 panel doors (1 original door had been left on premise), refurbishing the original hard wood floors and custom routing and weaving in new flooring boards where needed in the dining room. We replaced 47 other floor boards that had termite damage after we tented the house. The wood used was stored salvaged wood that we saved from previous neighborhood jobs that we had worked on. We refurbished the original window seat and added sconces on each side of the bank of windows as well as matching lighting going up the stairwell. We mimicked the original newel posts and added ones that match the one original one at the top of the stairs. A majority of the windows had new weights installed and 90% still have the original wavy glass. Insulation, two new A/C’s, ducting, new cabinetry and gas appliances were installed for the modern convenience of a refurbished home. Lots of love and care went in to salvaging the historical integrity of this beautiful home bound to withstand another 100 years. Our main goal for the past 12 years since conception is to work on the historic homes of Jacksonville, Florida refurbishing and repairing one at a time in such a way that it will last and be enjoyable for another 50 years. Always adhering to its historical integrity, using the best craftsman possible and quality materials. We hope you enjoy the Bayard home as much as we do.

Additional Photos and Information