The 250-year-old single-family home in Hirschberg

The untrained eye might not immediately realize that this charming and spacious single-family home in Hirschberg, a district of the Westphalian town of Warstein, is already around 250 years old. Its secret is revealed on the side facing away from the street, where beautiful old timber framing has been brought back into view.

The house was built between 1778 and 1788 and has been in the family for several generations. The current residents began restoring the old masonry in 2002, starting with the installation of new windows.
At the same time, a magnificent new fully glazed door was installed on this side, replacing a "Deelentor" (hall door) that had once existed but had been bricked up later on.

The (new) magnificent hall door was installed in 2002

In collaboration with master roofer Frank Busch from Warstein-Hirschberg (www.busch-bedachungen.de), the owners decided to give the house long-lasting weather protection and a fresh look with a new roof made of aluminum shingles, with the new shingles designed to match the appearance of the original roofing.

Condition after restoration

The term "Deelentor" is primarily found in the region stretching from the Sauerland to Lower Saxony. Despite its age, the house is not a listed building. Instead, a heritage conservationist determined its age using wood samples and even provided valuable tips for the restoration. In 2018, it was time to renew the gable roof. The old bitumen shingle roofing, which had been damaged by several storms, needed to be replaced.

This also had to comply with the local design statutes, which mandate a black-gray slate look or roof tiles.

Before the bitumen shingles were installed, the house was originally covered with real slate, as was common in the Sauerland. The new roofing pays homage to this. There were also technical reasons for choosing aluminum shingles. As roofer Frank Busch explains, parts of the roof structure were in need of restoration because they had sagged slightly, which would have created an uneven, wavy surface for the new roofing. It was therefore fitted with new sheathing.

Furthermore, the legendary "Canada" shingles from the Düren-based company haushaut (www.haushaut.com), which have been proven in harsher climates for decades, offered not only weather protection but also the advantage of being lightweight, weighing barely more than the old bitumen shingles.

Over a period of about three weeks around the turn of the year before last, the roofers installed the new roof, which significantly enhances the house not only in terms of appearance. Roofer Frank Busch is highly satisfied with the result of his work.

Like the residents, he is firmly convinced that the Canada shingle is an excellent fit for the house.

The historic building has thus been made secure and stylish for the decades to come.

New roofing was laid on partially new sheathing

Condition today with the new roof