October 2008 Update
October 24, 2008
Philip Walker House nears milestone
2008 has been a busy year at the PRI owned c.1724 Philip Walker House in East Providence. Beginning 
in February, PRI Property Manager Kurt Bagley, along with Rob Cagnetta and his crew from Heritage Restoration Incorporated, embarked on a major project to rehabilitate the structure and update the kitchen and bath for re-use as a residence after more than 20 years since its last occupant passed away.
The Walker House had been used in the intervening years as a study house for 
local college preservation-degree students, regional preservation scholars and even an international study group. For more background on the history and significance of the Walker House, you can visit its page on the PRI website. After dismantling a 1950's kitchen and bath in February, the plan was to simply replace them and upgrade the systems in the house. However, there were signs of greater problems lurking underneath as layers of history were carefully peeled back to expose the structure of the house. A 2-month pause in the project allowed PRI time to bring in various preservation professionals to further discuss the project philosophy and identify areas of importance that should be protected as work mo
ved forward.
Work continued in June with the north side of the house being lifted 2 inches to relieve the central chimney mass of the weight it was improperly supporting. The north foundation wall was rebuilt, the north sill was replaced and most of the studs in the north wall were replaced. When the jacks were removed, the house remained at its new height, properly supported and ready for the next 100 years. Additional precautions were also taken against further movement of the 
house by installing diagonal steel strapping at each of the corners on the second floor, to prevent the house from twisting. The house had actually twisted when it dropped those 2 inches over 100 years ago, and PRI wanted to be doubly sure that it would not do so again!
The Heritage Restoration crew is about to move into phase 4 of this project, after roughing in new electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, to close up the walls and install the new kitchen and relocated bathroom. However, the house will not be completely finished as there is a phase 5 still to be undertaken by PRI's Property Manager over the next 5 years as he lives onsite and works to address interpretation of the interior finishes and develops programming for the property in an effort to increase its long term sustainability. An Open House will be held in the Spring for those interested in seeing the project and learning more about our plans.