A Family's Mission to Preserve an Heirloom

For Bob Dane and his wife, Linda Wilkens, choosing to rehab their 2,000 sq ft Dutch Colonial home was an emotionally-charged and necessary decision. Decades of exposure to Virginia weather had begun wearing on the home’s exterior. The couple knew in order to maintain its value and integrity, they would have to renovate, risking many of the exterior characteristics they’d grown to love. It was an intimidating endeavor.

Located in a cozy enclave just outside Washington D.C., Bob and Linda live in the only timber-framed home in the Alexandria region. A unique testament to the area's vibrant 18th and 19th century architecture, their home is constructed with large, exposed wood beams, resplendent gables, and rustic cedar roofing and siding— a style that highly unusual in the Mid-Atlantic territory today. As a native of Maine, Linda was immediately drawn to the home's northeastern allure, which prompted the couple's choice to move in nearly 20 years ago.

Bob and Linda considered replacing the cedar siding and shingles with other materials that would be durable and functional, but they could not be swayed from their fondness for its original architecture.

"Exterior Medics understood our emotional attachment to this house. From the very beginning, they understood that this was our home, not just a project."

Click here to read the full story in our home improvement magazine.