Francis House

The restoration of the historic Francis House from the ashes and ruins following years of abandonment and neglect has transformed this former hospital into a boutique hotel in beautiful Calistoga, California.

Extensive fire damage had destroyed the interior timber structural framing leaving only the exterior built-up stone walls intact. As part of the historic renovation, KPFF developed a testing program to determine the lay-up of the stone walls along with strength properties for seismic resistance. The renovation strategy included an innovative approach to strengthening the walls by pressure grouting the collar joint in between the interior and exterior wythes followed by stitching the wythes together with stainless steel rods set in epoxy resin. The new floors and roof were independently constructed using structural steel framing with concrete fill over metal decking, and brace the exterior stone walls for out-of-plane seismic forces. Overall, the renovation proved to be minimally invasive and accomplished the historic preservation objectives without requiring additional augmentation or strengthening of the lateral system.

The only stone building in Calistoga, the Francis House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Learn more about the Francis House here.