Vinyl siding an option for historic home BY PATRICK CORCORAN STAFF WRITER The historic Sunderlage Farmhouse could get a makeover next summer, but the result may not please preservationists. As annual village budget talks near, the Hoffman Estates Capitol Improvement Board is considering fixing the landmark's peeling clapboard wood siding by covering it with vinyl siding. Historical Sites Commission member Marilyn Lind, who opposes the proposal, is requesting that the Public Works and Utilities Committee publicly discuss the issue at its August or September meeting before the village moves forward with its annual budget planning process. The paint problem is a messy one -- contractors who renovated the house in 1988 used oil paint on the exterior. Per that contractor's instructions, the village's Public Works Department has twice repainted the house with latex paint, according to Public Works Department Director Ken Hari. Under most circumstances, that's not a good idea, but he said his employees simply followed the contractor's directions. "There are instances where it is acceptable, depending on the product and other conditions, to put latex paint over oil paint. We followed to a letter what the architectural firm directed. In both subsequent paintings, we used the same product ... now we know that could be a root cause of the peeling. One option is modifying that practice," Hari said. The two previous painting projects cost a combined $33,000, Hari said. The next one will cost an estimated $26,000. Hari said his department likely will not recommend vinyl siding, but remains an option for the Capitol Improvements Board to consider. Lind said some Historical Sites Commission members seemed to favor the vinyl siding option, but she would like to see it put to rest. "This is no way to handle the problem that exists there. By tearing down the clapboard siding, at a minimum, you destroy the integrity of the building," she said. The siding option will cost about $50,000, according to the estimates presented to the Historical Sites Commission, Lind said. "They'd like to spend the money and never have to worry about it again," she said. Retired architect William Hasbrouck -- whose firm oversaw the renovation of more than 1,000 buildings including the Dana Thomas House in Springfield and the Robie House in Chicago -- planned the 1988 renovation of the Sunderlage Farm House. He said replacing the clapboard siding with vinyl siding would be a tragedy. "I don't know why anyone would want to do that. It would be just awful. Vinyl siding is simply the bane of any real historical preservationist. (Sunderlage) is one of the only real historic buildings there is in that entire area ... I hope someone stops that from happening," he said. The Chicago-based architect said he used historical photos to carefully re-create the wood shingle roof, the porch, the exterior staircase and the siding almost 20 years ago. Hasbrouck said he went to great lengths to minimize the visual impact of his work on Sunderlage. "What we tried to do was return the exterior and its appearance to something as close to the original as we could. The interior, we adapted for a contemporary use -- hosting local meetings or whatever -- while adding modern fixtures like new plumbing, electrical systems and fire suppression systems," he said. Hasbrouck said he wasn't aware of any problems with the paint used by his contractors. Trustee Lloyd Boester, chairman of the village's Public Works and Utilities Commission, said the house needs to be preserved as a landmark and offered a solution. "Although the house isn't designated as a historical landmark, the property is. I don't understand what the big rush is to sign a contract and start working on it. The damage is limited to one side and we could always do the work piecemeal," he said. Boester said he is unsure when the proposal may come before his committee. The Sunderlage house was built by Johann and Catherine Greve Sunderlage, who were among the area's first pioneer families when they moved to Schaumburg Township in 1836. The house was built in 1856 and passed down to family members before it was sold to someone outside the family for the first time in the 1920s. Later, developers Peter Volid, Albert Robin and Thomas Origer purchased the house, funded its restoration and donated it to the village to be used for public meetings. Although the Sunderlage house is not on the National Register of Historic Places, a smokehouse on the property is, making it the only building in Hoffman Estates with such a designation. This spring, the village demolished Sunderlage's 100-year-old barn. While Hoffman Estates does not have a ban on the use of vinyl siding on historic homes, Schaumburg does. In 1999, Schaumburg resident Marty Nevel was accidentally granted a permit to cover his home at 300 Lexington Court -- a local historical landmark -- with vinyl siding. Once the error was discovered, the village denied Nevel's request and ordered him to halt the renovation of his home. In response, he filed a lawsuit. In November 2004, a Cook County Circuit judge ordered Nevel to remove a significant amount of the vinyl siding from the 1930s-era Kern Schmidt Mansion. If Sunderlage is covered with vinyl siding, it won't be the first defeat for local preservationists in recent years. A set of three buildings, including another 19th century smokehouse, located on the old Freye Homestead on Freeman Road were demolished last year after the property was subdivided. The village has failed to move forward with its plans to preserve the Lindbergh School House on Shoe Factory Road. In 2003, the village, Ryland Homes and Terrestris Development signed an agreement to allow local residents Kevin and Laura Clerkin to renovate and move into the 72-year-old school house for use as a family home. But problems with utility access has caused significant delays and the dilapidated building is currently vacant. Village officials now say the Clerkins may be allowed to begin restoring the house in spring 2006. http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/sc/07-28-05-638252.html