SHAKER LIFE | FALL 2014 39
states.” This was, after all, last winter
– remember the polar vortex? – when
homeowners all over Northeast Ohio were
dealing with burst pipes.
The group that showed up at the
Garfield’s home was from Georgia. “They were
all young, strong guys and they were ready
to start demolishing everything,” says Bari.
“They’d never worked in an old house. But
when they saw the damage, they would say,
‘This has got to go’ and ‘That has got to go.’”
This and that included most of the
home’s original woodwork, including doors,
floors, and trim, as well as the dining room
wall and its original plaster molding.
“We were heartsick,” says Bari. “What
Home Depot can you go to to get that plaster
molding or those doors and the woodwork?”
Fortunately, the couple had the presence
of mind to get a second opinion. They called
Greg Shelt, owner of Renaissance Painting &
Decorating in Cleveland Heights, who’d done
work for them in the past.
When Shelt arrived, he was surprised
by the extent of the damage. “It was one of
the worst situations I’ve seen,” he says. But
Shelt has spent most of his career working
on older homes in the Heights (he founded
Renaissance in 1988) so after inspecting the
damage, he was encouraged. “Nothing was
submerged,” he says. The wood, while soaked,
was mostly intact. “I knew that wouldn’t
be a problem when it dried out. It was
high-quality wood, which we could restore.”
Indeed, it’s worth noting that wood
can be exceptionally resilient. “The
Garfield’s house is pushing 80
or 90 years old, so the wood
has multiple layers of sealants
on,” explains Shelt. This
provided some protection.
In fact, the white film that
the Garfields had observed
all over the wood was simply the varnish
absorbing the water. “A lot of that white stuff
scrapes right off,” Shelt says.
What’s more, the wood in the Garfield’s
home, and most every other 1920s-era home
in the city, is, quite literally, irreplaceable.
“As far as the old woodwork goes, everything
can be made, but it’s never going to be the
same. Those trees that were cut back when
these homes were built were much older
growth and you cannot get that same wood
anymore,” says Shelt.