Decatur Craftsman Bungalow
Early 1900s Bungalow — Cedar Shake Roof, Wood Siding Repair & Period-Accurate Details
Bringing a Bungalow Back to Its 1912 Character
This 1912 Craftsman bungalow in downtown Decatur had been modernized piecemeal over a century— aluminum-wrapped eaves, mismatched asphalt roof, and vinyl siding covering original cedar. The current owners wanted to undo decades of well-meaning but character-erasing changes and bring the house back to the design its builders intended.
Our scope covered removal of all non-original cladding, restoration of the original cedar siding and exposed rafter tails, a new cedar shake roof, period-correct porch column restoration, and an accurate paint scheme drawn from Craftsman-era palettes.
Client Type
Private homeowners
Location
Decatur, GA
Timeline
14 weeks
Result
Period-accurate exterior, 1912 character restored
Character Stripped Away, Then Returned
Before — Vinyl-Clad
During — Exposed Original
After — Restored
Materials, Challenges & Craft
- Certi-Split #1 Western red cedar shakes, medium hand-split
- Stainless ring-shank fasteners and Cedar Breather underlayment
- Copper valleys and drip edge, hand-formed
- Vinyl removed; 80% of original cedar clapboard salvaged and reused
- Failed boards replaced with matching-profile milled cedar
- Exposed rafter tails and knee braces uncovered and refinished
- Tapered square columns re-milled from quartersawn white oak
- Stone pier bases cleaned, repointed, and capped
- Tongue-and-groove porch ceiling restored with period "haint blue"
- Three-color Craftsman palette: field, trim, and accent
- Original paint chips color-matched by spectrophotometer
- Hammered-copper house numbers and porch lantern sourced to era
"We bought this bungalow because of its bones, but decades of vinyl had buried them. They pulled the vinyl, found 80% of the original cedar still intact, and brought the house back to what it should always have looked like."
Decatur Homeowners
Decatur, GA
Services Used on This Project
Considering a Craftsman or Bungalow Restoration?
Our Atlanta team specializes in period-accurate cedar, wood, and copper work. Schedule a walkthrough and paint-chip analysis.