The artist who painted the interior and exterior of the Chesser-Williams House also painted this mural above the parlor fireplace. (Staff photo: Kristi Reed)

In just a few months, visitors to the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center (GEHC) will be able to tour one of the oldest surviving homes in Gwinnett the Chesser-Williams House. The home is historically significant not only for its age, but also because it is decorated inside and out with rare folk art paintings.

One of the things that makes this house so valuable is the art, said GEHC Director Steve Cannon.

The art is believed to have been the work of an itinerant German artist who painted in exchange for room and board during his travels from North Carolina to Texas in the late 1800s. Only seven other structures are known to have intact examples of the artists work and none of his exterior paintings apart from those found on the Chesser-Williams House are known to have survived. All of the painting was done freehand which resulted in some characteristic marks which enabled historians to identify his work at homes and churches across the region.

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Rare art key feature of historic Gwinnett home

DECATUR - Decatur's Near Westside Restoration and Preservation Society will host its 24th annual Decatur Heritage & Holly Historic Home Tour on November 28 and November 29.

Officials say the tour will highlight the city's "Prairie Homes - Craftsmen at Work," and will include nine homes and businesses. The tour will kick off from The First Presbyterian Church, located at 604 West Prairie Street.

One of the highlights of this year's tour is #2 Millikin Place, the final home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright before he left his family and home behind to travel to Europe. The home has not been open to the public in over 20 years. The tour will take participants through the Oglesby Mansion as well.

Tickets for the tour cost $18.00, and are available at Haines & Essick in downtown Decatur and Kirlin's Hallmark on North Water Street.

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24th annual Heritage & Holly Historic Home Tour held this weekend

The Alabama gulf coast is heavily developed with condo and hotel properties. Now the state wants to use Gulf Coast restoration funds to build a new beach hotel and conference center. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

The Alabama gulf coast is heavily developed with condo and hotel properties. Now the state wants to use Gulf Coast restoration funds to build a new beach hotel and conference center.

Money is flowing now to Gulf Coast states to remedy damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and subsequent spill. All kinds of projects are underway, from building boat ramps to shoring-up marshland.

They're being paid for with a $1 billion down payment BP made toward its ultimate responsibility to make the Gulf Coast whole, a figure estimated to be up to $18 billion.

With that much money at stake, just what qualifies as coastal restoration has become a matter of debate.

Environmentalists are suing to stop BP funds from paying for a hotel development, and say the money should only be used for ecological projects.

One of those is underway in Pensacola Beach, Fla., where tall street lights in a public beach parking lot threaten sea turtles.

"At night, they are beacons," says Ben Frater, a restoration biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sea turtle hatchlings instinctively use light reflected off the water to direct them to their home in the Gulf of Mexico.

"So they're instead misoriented, they get confused," Frater says.

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Plan To Use Gulf Oil Spill Funds For Beach Hotel Stirs Debate

The Alabama gulf coast is heavily developed with condo and hotel properties. Now the state wants to use Gulf Coast restoration funds to build a new beach hotel and conference center. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

The Alabama gulf coast is heavily developed with condo and hotel properties. Now the state wants to use Gulf Coast restoration funds to build a new beach hotel and conference center.

Money is flowing now to Gulf Coast states to remedy damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and subsequent spill. All kinds of projects are underway, from building boat ramps to shoring-up marshland.

They're being paid for with a $1 billion down payment BP made toward its ultimate responsibility to make the Gulf Coast whole, a figure estimated to be up to $18 billion.

With that much money at stake, just what qualifies as coastal restoration has become a matter of debate.

Environmentalists are suing to stop BP funds from paying for a hotel development, and say the money should only be used for ecological projects.

One of those is underway in Pensacola Beach, Fla., where tall street lights in a public beach parking lot threaten sea turtles.

"At night, they are beacons," says Ben Frater, a restoration biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sea turtle hatchlings instinctively use light reflected off the water to direct them to their home in the Gulf of Mexico.

"So they're instead misoriented, they get confused," Frater says.

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Plan To Use Gulf Oil Spill Funds For Beach Hotel Sparks Lawsuit

The painting of trees along a stream has felt like home since Debbie Mattison first admired it on the pale blue walls of her Grandma Ethels Philadelphia living room. After carefully wrapping it in a sheet for the trip to SUNY Buffalo State and its appointment at the annual one-day conservation clinic, she was grateful for a conservation professors checkup and to know shed been taking good care of her inherited art.

It turned out she did the right thing to hang it by an armoire and away from the drying damage of a nearby heating vent. Now she has a list of restorers who can clean it and fix the chips in the frame.

I didnt have a clue, she said Friday morning as she headed out, pausing to talk proudly about the painting she imagines stepping into. It feels like I could walk up there, sit down and have a sandwich on the rocks.

Once a year, SUNY Buffalo State invites about 60 people to make appointments and bring art in need of repair for review at the Art Conservation Department in Rockwell Hall on Elmwood Avenue. Professors and students divide into three categories: painting, paper and decorative objects, such as furniture, clocks, ceramics, glass and fabric.

Sometimes they offer to take on a restoration project, which can cost from $200 to $900 or more, as an opportunity for students to learn as they work on their craft.

Its a really interesting way to get a different perspective on art, said Julie Ribits, one of the departments 30 graduate students, who spoke Friday morning as she waited in the painting room for the next appointment. Its a really nice blend between science and art.

Since the spring, she has been restoring a family portrait someone brought in that dated from the mid-1800s. Out of its frame, the canvas of a demure-looking woman with lively, detailed eyes and neatly parted hair beneath a white bonnet lay flat on a table. In the background at the top corner, Ribits had been carefully filling in layers of gray paint that had worn away.

Its kind of like a doctors office, said Patrick Ravines, program director, who looked in from the hallway where people were carrying in artwork in frames and wrapping. You can come in four months. You can come in a year.

People can apply for future appointments by calling the department at 878-5025 or by emailing a description of the item to artcon@buffalostate.edu. On Nov. 7, the program will host an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. so that people can see art in the midst of treatment and learn about conservation study.

So much of what we do is behind the scenes, said James Hamm, the professor who oversees painting work. No one knows we exist.

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Restoration takes center stage at SUNY Buffalo State

Lynchburg, VA- They were forced out of their home earlier this year when the entire side of the house collapsed. Now, after help from the community their historic Lynchburg home is being put back together, stronger than ever.

Larry Taylor Restoration is building back the historic Garland Hill home piece by piece. Seeing the work Larry Taylor has done on the weathered home may make you think he's a gift sent from above, but he'll just tell you he's doing his job.

It's a joy for me because this is what I do," said Taylor.

Taylor says this hasn't been an easy feat though. In fact, he says other contractors didn't want to go near the job.

It was a mess. It was a big hole. Just a big hole, debris piled up all out here," said Taylor.

The remnants of that mess are still lying in piles around the house to remind Taylor and his crew of all the hard work they've done, and still have left to do. Cracks line the walls that came down in the collapse. And an incomplete second floor doesn't leave much room for privacy.

Taylor's not alone in the venture though. The homeowner's employer, Don Banker of Banker Steel, has donated several items toward the restoration.

His heart is towards his employees. They take care of him and he takes care of them," said Taylor.

Now the nearly 200 year-old home that was condemned, is being built back with steel, concrete and hopes that it will last 200 more years.

Everything is bolted in. That thing's built like a Sherman tank now," said Taylor.

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Historic Lynchburg Home Being Restored After Wall Collapse

ROCKTON Linda Eaton has always been partial to historic homes having grown up in a restored barn.

So when her father passed away at a young age while the family home in Rockton was being restored, she knew she had to see through the restoration of their 1843 Limestone Talcott.

In a way, its a gift to the village because it will be here long after Im gone, Eaton said of her Greek Revival style home at 101 W. Chapel St.

Eatons home is one of more than 200 in the village that could be protected under a Historic Preservation Commission being proposed.

After weeks of discussions in committee, the Administration Committee decided to hold a second public hearing at their Dec. 2 board meeting. A previous hearing at a committee only drew supporters to the hearing, so the second hearing would ideally draw from a larger group of residents who want to weigh in, said Village President Dale Adams.

We want to try to get a broader cross section of the community, Adams said.

Under the ordinance, homeowners have an opt-in option as to whether they want their home deemed a landmark a designation that could get them tax benefits for home maintenance. If there is a group of homes that could be made into a historic district, at least 51 percent of homeowners within that area have to agree to be part of the district.

Adams said the option plan came after more than a year of talks and concerns raised about homeowners rights.

We dont want them to have to go to a board for approval if they want to put in energy efficient windows, Adams said. Thats always been a concern of the pastBy allowing homeowners to opt in and be part or not, I think it stands a better chance of approval.

Trustee Tricia Nelson said she would have liked to see the entire village fall under the ordinance, but despite the opt-out option she thought it would be good for preserving the character of the village.

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Rockton eyes historic preservation

DENVER (CBS4)- The side of house in DenversFive Points neighborhood collapsed Friday, andinvestigators are trying to determine whether excavation in a neighboring lot played a role.

Ithappenedat a two-story home at 2442 Glenarm Place.No one was home or injured during the collapse. The familys dog was home, but its OK.

Itdidnt make any sound, just fell. Thats it, witnessMax Burlapan said.

Crews from Xcel Energyshut off gas to the area, and restoration crews were inside the building on Friday evening trying tostabilize it.

What caused the partial collapse is being investigated, but preliminary reports suggest there was excavation occurring in a lot nexttothe home.

The contractor doing the work said it had the proper permits and engineering needed, so theyre still not sure what went wrong.

A woman living in the house emailed the contractor Friday morning, inquiring about the safety of the project.The woman and her family are expecting a baby and recently finished the nursery.

Engineers with the city are examining the damage to see if the home can be salvaged or repaired.

Crewsexcavating ground at a nearby project said its necessaryto install structural beams and lagging to protect nearby structures.

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Partial Building Collapse In Five Points Investigated

The Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The planned restoration of the Palace of Westminster could cost taxpayers more than 3bn, it has been claimed.

An expert who led an examination of options for renovating the historic building told BBC2s Newsnight that it was not unreasonable to think the bill could top 2bn, but the programme claimed the working assumption of insiders was that it could cost 1bn more.

Dr Richard Ware was appointed in 2012 as director of a group studying the restoration and renewal of the palace, and later that year produced a report that put the capital cost of necessary repairs at around 1.5bn.

The report found that basic services within the building, such as electricity, water and sanitation, were functioning with increasing difficulty and growing risks, while asbestos was present throughout the palace and original roofs were no longer watertight, leading to extensive damp, leaks and floods.

The present building home to the House of Lords since 1847 and the Commons since 1852 has had no general renovation since repairs to wartime damage in 1945-50, the 2012 report said, adding: If the palace were not a listed building of the highest heritage value, its owners would probably be advised to demolish and rebuild.

The report considered the options of constructing a new home for parliament, moving one or both houses temporarily while Westminster is renovated, or attempting to restore the building with MPs and peers working inside something it warned could take 50 years. And it proposed the establishment of a quango, along the lines of the Olympic Delivery Authority, to oversee the work.

The House of Commons was told last week that 7m was being spent on a further report, with MPs due to choose their favoured option in spring 2016 and work not expected to begin in earnest until after 2020.

Ware told Newsnight that if nothing was done, politicians and staff would end up working in a ruin. Were moving backwards, the building is getting older, faster than we can deal with it. The building is on borrowed time, and if we dont act soon we wont have a choice.

Asked if the cost would be more than 2bn, Ware said it was not unreasonable to think it will be of that order. But Newsnight said it had been told that the working assumption was that the cost could reach 3bn over many years. It quoted an unnamed source familiar with the project as saying: Id be surprised if it stayed at that.

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Palace of Westminster renovation could cost taxpayers 3bn

1978 Motorhome Restoration #9
These Motor-home restoration videos document my experience rebuilding my particular RV. I #39;m a novice and any advise, information, ideas expressed or seen are to be used at own risk. This kind...

By: Glenn B

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1978 Motorhome Restoration #9 - Video