Repairs for Presidio Heights' Edwardian and shingle houses
Most of Presidio Heights went up in the early 1900s as Edwardian houses and flats, along with the city's finest row of brown-shingle houses on Pacific Avenue beside the Presidio Wall. Repairs center on original wood windows and doors, lath-and-plaster walls, replacing split shingles, period light fixtures, and work inside older buildings divided into condominiums.
Presidio Heights houses on the hillside. Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
ZIP codes
94118
When the homes were built
1900-1930
Main streets
Pacific Avenue, Jackson Street, Washington Street, Clay Street
Houses and flats built in Presidio Heights between 1900 and 1915 still have many of their original double-hung wood windows and heavy paneled doors. Sash cords break, sashes get painted shut or rattle in their frames, and doors sag on their hinges. Replacing cords and pulleys, freeing and weatherstripping sashes, and rehanging doors keep the originals, which matter to the look of these houses, working without replacement. More about door and window repair
Replacing split and missing shingles
The 3200 and 3300 blocks of Pacific Avenue hold what is considered San Francisco's finest collection of Shingle Style houses, including Ernest Coxhead's Waybur House at 3232 Pacific. Cedar shingles split, cup and loosen with age and weather, and a few missing ones let water behind the siding. Replacing individual shingles to match the exposure and weathering of the wall around them is careful small work; wholesale re-siding is a contractor project. More about general handyman repairs
Lath-and-plaster walls and ceilings
Presidio Heights' Edwardian interiors are plaster over wood lath, a century old or more. Cracks run from door and window corners, ceilings sag where plaster has lost its grip on the lath, and old anchor holes crumble. Reattaching loose plaster with plaster washers before filling, and patching in layers, gives a lasting repair. A ceiling that is visibly bellied should be secured before anyone patches it. More about drywall and plaster repair
Period fixtures on old ceiling boxes
Many Edwardian houses and flats have had their lighting updated piecemeal over a century, so ceiling boxes range from sound modern ones to older boxes barely holding a heavy fixture. A period-style pendant or a new fixture can go up on an existing box once it is confirmed to be securely supported, and a ceiling fan needs a fan-rated brace behind it. Brittle old wiring, missing boxes or a new fixture location mean calling a licensed electrician.
Mounting in plaster-walled flats and condos
Converted flats and condos in older Presidio Heights buildings have plaster walls, original window and door openings that limit where a screen can go, and some interior walls shared with a neighboring unit. Mounts need to go into the studs behind the plaster, with holes drilled carefully to avoid cracking. In a condo, check whether the wall is common to another unit and whether the association has rules on cable runs. More about tv mounting
How the houses here are built
Edwardian single-family houses and flats, a group of architect-designed Shingle Style houses on the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Pacific Avenue, and many older buildings converted to condominiums. Assessor records put most of it between 1900 and 1929.
Wood-frame houses with wood siding or cedar shingles outside and lath and plaster inside. Architects represented here include Ernest Coxhead, Willis Polk, Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan, Albert Farr and William Knowles.
On the Presidio's southern edge, a short way inland from the Golden Gate that pulls the city's summer wind and fog inland, houses here get damp, breezy summers that work on cedar shingles and old wood sashes.
Good to know before a job in Presidio Heights
Along the Presidio Wall
A low stone wall built between 1902 and 1913 runs along the Presidio's southern boundary from Presidio Avenue to Arguello Boulevard, and the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Pacific Avenue parallel it. On the north side of the 3200 block, five shingled houses narrow as they step down the hill, with the wall tapering to a point near Walnut Street. The houses here, including William Knowles' 1905 design at 3236 Pacific, are well documented by architectural historians, so repairs should match what's there.
Houses, flats and condos side by side
The neighborhood runs from Pacific Avenue south to California Street and from Presidio Avenue west to Arguello Boulevard, where Temple Emanu-El's 150-foot dome, built in 1926, stands at Lake Street. Assessor records list hundreds of condominiums here alongside the single-family houses, many in older buildings divided into units. Shared entries, stairs and exteriors are usually common areas, so check with the association and note building access instructions in the request.
How a request works
Describe the job
A sentence and a photo or two is enough. It takes about a minute.
A local handyman gets in touch
By call or text, to ask what the photos don't show and give you a price.
You decide
Agree a time and price with the handyman directly, or don't. Requesting costs nothing.
Questions from Presidio Heights homeowners
Some of the cedar shingles on our Pacific Avenue house have split. Can just those be replaced?
Yes. Individual shingles can be slid out and replaced, matched to the exposure of the course and, as closely as possible, the weathering of the wall. New shingles look lighter at first and weather in over time. If large areas are soft or water has been getting behind the siding, have a contractor assess the wall.
Our Edwardian windows rattle and some won't stay open. Do they need replacing?
Usually not. Broken sash cords stop a window staying up, and loose stops and worn weatherstripping make it rattle. Replacing cords, resetting stops and adding weatherstripping fixes both, and keeps windows that are part of the character of an early-1900s house.
We own a condo in a converted Edwardian building. What can we repair without the association?
Interior work in your own unit, such as plaster patching, fixture swaps and door adjustments, is typically yours to arrange. Windows, the front door, shared stairs and the exterior are usually common elements. Your condo documents set the line, so check them before booking.
Our back garden reaches the Presidio Wall. Can the fence and gate there be repaired?
Your own fence, gate and garden structures can be. The stone wall itself dates from 1902 to 1913 and marks the Presidio's boundary, so it is not something to drill into, attach to or repair as part of a home job. Keep fence posts and anything new clear of it.
Checked against these public sources in September 2026. Rules change: confirm anything permit-related with the City of San Francisco before work starts.
