Hedberg Historic Residential Restoration

Rising from the Ashes

Restoration team rebuilds history

By Jennifer Pfaff

The crew charged with restoring Peggy Hedberg’s 1917 home found both the devil in the details and the soul of a Madison-area landmark.

An attic fire destroyed Hedberg’s home in Maple Bluff on Jan. 29, 2004, which turned out to be the coldest night of the year. It took 24,000 gallons of water to quench the flames.

And when the fire was out, every remaining surface in the 9,300-square-foot house was coated in thick sheets of ice. On top of that, the fire caused the roof to collapse, totaling the second floor of the home.

It was a mess, but the decision to restore the structure to its 1917 condition was easy given the home’s historic significance. The house was designed by Madison architect Frank Riley, who also designed the governor’s mansion two doors away.

The reconstruction work fell to Verona-based Engineered Construction Inc., which turned to historic restoration experts Isthmus Architects Inc. of Madison and local historians to help put the pieces back together.

While the home had to be gutted, the timing of the fire and the ice sheets actually helped preserve some key structures, said William J. Jackson, vice president of marketing and business development for Engineered Construction.

“The house looked like a big ice castle,” he said. “There was 4 feet of water in the basement. All the furniture — the contents — were all iced in place, frozen in place.


	Project Name: Hedberg Historic Residential Restoration Location: Maple Bluff Submitting Company: Engineered Construction Inc., Verona General Contractor: Engineered Construction Inc. Architect: Isthmus Architects Inc., Madison Engineer: Structural Integrity Inc., Middleton Owner: Peggy Hedberg Project Cost: $5.05 million Project Size: 9,300 square feet Start Date: February 2004 Completion Date: August 2005

“One of the good things about it was that a lot of the hardwood floors were saved because they were flash froze.”

Crews moved quickly to prevent further damage from the elements. They erected a temporary roof, trusses and tarps.

It took a month to melt the ice and pump away the water. And as the plaster walls thawed and dried, they crumbled to the ground.

But even the remaining bits and pieces were keys to the restoration because they would be necessary in finding exact replicas for the home’s second life. So crews collected scraps of wallpaper, fixtures and hardware whenever possible.

And they hit the books. The reconstruction crews turned to local historical societies and libraries to gather information on the parts of the house that were completely destroyed.

“Hundreds of hours were spent researching the home,” Jackson said.

The Mediterranean-style home’s clay tile roof, totally destroyed in the fire, was a real challenge to recreate. The original manufacturer, Ludowici Roof Tile, is still in business, but contemporary runs didn’t match the original red of the Spanish tile.

Engineered Construction’s team, though, heard that the Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Ill., had tile from the same vein of ore from 1917. And, as luck would have it, the track was getting rid of the tile. Those tiles ended up on Hedberg’s house.

Tracking down the tile was only a part of the overall challenge, Jackson said. The home boasts 126 doors, and no more than three ever shared the same style. Even the doorknobs and hinges were recreated. To bring back the trim and crown molding, the team had to work with 153 different profiles.

But the extensive research and exacting work proved worth it when the owner returned home in August.

“We’re never going to see another project like this,” Jackson said. “You’re not going to find a project this detailed, this unique. It’s rewarding. It’s unfortunate it took a fire to get us there.”