Maplecroft Exteriors

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:42 am

Wow! These look sweet enough to eat. Love that gingerbread trim! (photos previous page)
I can see I need to get out of the NB library once in awhile and roam around the streets. These pastel color schemes are a little more like the California Painted Ladies-Fall River is more conservative.

I live near the old mill city of Norwich, CT which has its own street of dropdead gorgeous Victorian houses. Norwich and Willimantic have mill stories much like that of Fall River, including the steamboats. My own hometown here in North Stonington was once a hotbed for fulling and weaving wool and had 2 large mills on the waterfall, nearby Bradford was a textile dyeing factory and Westerly (RI) still has one fabric mill in operation.

There always seems to be one street at least in these textile towns which boasts glorious Victorian houses, and many streets with the familiar triple-deckers for the mill workers. Love the photos!

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:30 am

Thank you for showing those---I am still drooling!

It's wonderful to see these houses so well-kept. There really is another side to the coin & if only there were some way to 'flip' Maplecroft. It would be so marvelous to see it looking as good as those NB houses!

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:19 am

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:56 am

Dahhh! I looked it up, the Taber house in the photo in the above post, that is. Very Interesting............

http://www.melvillehouse.net/

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:09 am

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House is another great museum, circa 1834 in New Beford where all the textile students from URI must visit. There's a lot more good stuff stored in the attic not on display-but most all museums have a shortage of exhibit space. They maintain a very high standard of conservation here.
http://www.rjdmuseum.org/

SteveS. · Post by **SteveS.** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:49 pm

I agree with your analogy mbhenty about Fall River and New Bedford being illigitamite sisters. I lived in Fall River and Dartmouth for over 40 yrs and have discovered the same thing that u either love one city or the other and don't know that much about the other city. They even talk with a slightly different accent in both cities. Listen to the way a New Bedfordite and a Fall Riverite pronounce words like coffee and officer and bathroom and Boston. They even have the same Azorean immigrant population yet Fall River loves its chourico even on pizza and in grinders yet in New Bedford its almost all linguica. As far as the accent goes I think Fall River landed up with a more New York accent probably due to the steamships going to and from Fall River and New York for so long. They even pronounce the surname Moniz different in both cities.

Could the Taber from that beautiful home be the Tabers from Taber Academy?
http://taboracademy.org/about_history.asp

william · Post by **william** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:45 pm

Magnificent - Heaven must look like this!

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:43 pm

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:59 am

Beautiful photos! Thanks!

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:48 am

shakiboo · Post by **shakiboo** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:30 pm

Love the house's!! How elegant they are, sure don't make em like that anymore!!

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:44 pm

Looking today at the image "Maplecroft in the Snow" on Mondo Lizzie---

http://lizzieandrewborden.com/MondoLizzie/

This view looks like Dube has got rid of the horrible aluminum siding & we now have the shingle-over-wood siding back. Is this true, or has the east side of the house always retained the original look?

Or am I just seeing things?

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:54 pm

As far as I can recall, it has always been shingles.I have some photos of Maplecroft from 1991-2007 here, including the reshingle job done on the shouse in the early 90's.
http://fallriverpaintedladies.wordpress ... aplecroft/

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:04 pm

Egads--- you're right, Shelley...

And here I've been under the impression for years it had been sided with aluminum. :shaking2:

Yes...time to get new glasses for sure.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:10 pm

Perhaps what has thrown me is that it's all painted white.

I just can't get over myself not seeing this all this time!

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:15 pm

Yes, I seem to recall a more creamy shade way back when....

I kept one of those old shingles as a souvenir when they were thrown all over the sidewalk. They were RED cedar- and plenty pricey.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:02 pm

The owner of Maplecroft has dug deep, deep, deep and found some pennies to spend on Maplecroft.

Maplecorft is now getting a new asphalt roof.

Of course, as is common in fall river, its loving owner is taking the cheap road and not doing the work the right way. (best way)

They are going over the existing shingles rather than peel off the old ones. This will save the owner 2 to 3 thousand dollars in prep-fees.

Yes, yes I know, here he goes again.....................

On such a historical house only a cheapskate would place new shingles over old. This will make for a lumpy, wavy look. The imprint of the old shingles underneath will not let the new shingles lie flat. And the job never looks right.

But who cares? We are saving money here and Lizzie is dead and not complaining, so......... besides, its a free country......let the man alone; just leave him alone.

The roof was black and now will be white. White roof looks awful on a white house but...............

He may be using a middle grade shingles but I wouldn't place bets on that.

By the way the new shingles are resting, all wavy and such, more likely proves that he is using a thin cheap shingle. After all, if he is not going thru the trouble of removing the old roof why would you think he would place a quality shingle over it.

Right now the roof looks awful. In time, as the roof heats the shingles should settle in, flatten.

By coincidence, just this week, I have put down a roof on a small cottage I am working on. I tore the old roof shingles off. I am using a real cheap shingles. Still, compared to Maplecorft 's roof, the small cottage roof looks like a million bucks, even with the cheap shingles. The reason is because I tore off the old shingles and prep'd correctly.

Taking the time and money to do the job right makes all the difference in the world.

And on an historical building such as Maplecroft, why would you want any less.

But who cares. We are saving big money here.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:20 pm

On some houses a roof is just a roof. Anyone familiar with Maplecroft must be aware that Maplecroft is all roof. On a house like Maplecroft, with its steep visual facade, the roof is meant to be an integral and detailed architectural asset.

Such a building should have a quality decorative roof shingle. In the case of Maplecorft one is left with little choice but to place a decorative roof to support the architectural beauty of the building: unless you just don't care.

And believe me....................that little man just does not care.

Actually, the old ragged roof looks better than the new cheap one.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Fri May 01, 2009 5:25 am

Wow, it makes me nervous even to look at the pictures of those roofers waaaaaaaay up there. Your post made me wonder, was Maplecroft's original roof done in in some sort of wood shingle or was it always asphalt shingles? And what color would it have been when Lizzie and Emma purchased the house when it had its green and gold paint scheme?

Speaking of roofing, I went to the post office today and there was home that was being re-roofed with those curved clay tiles. The roofer explained to me that the clay tiles are really more of a decorative thing and that the real roof is the asphalt sheeting underneath. I never knew that, the water just seeps under the tiles and runs out at the bottom.