This historic Cranston home has a distinctive curved third-story porch, original to the house, that had settled and worn over the decades. Rather than replace it with something simpler and cheaper to build, we took on the restoration to preserve the architectural character that makes the home stand out on its street.
The sweeping white balustrade and railing detail were carefully rebuilt to match the original curve and proportions, and we refreshed all the surrounding trim to match. Underneath, the old deck surface had failed and was letting water into the structure below. We replaced it with a new rubber membrane deck system, a waterproofing approach built specifically for elevated porches and balconies, so the porch is now structurally sound and weathertight without changing its historic appearance from the street.
Restoration work like this is where carpenter-led construction matters most: matching curved millwork and historic proportions by eye and hand isn't something you can spec from a catalog. This project is a good example of the historic preservation carpentry Toensing Construction does across Cranston and the rest of Rhode Island's older housing stock.
Elevated porches like this one fail for a few predictable reasons: a worn-out waterproofing membrane, railings that were never properly flashed where they meet the structure, or framing that has softened from years of trapped moisture. A proper restoration starts with checking the framing underneath, not just the surface finish, since a new membrane over compromised framing only hides the problem for a few more years. That structural check is what determines whether a porch needs a simple resurfacing or a more involved rebuild.
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