When former UW President Lee Huntsman returned home after midnight one evening last winter, he was disturbed by the pitter-patter of dripping water.

Huntsman put on a pair of jeans, got out his flashlight and crawled around the roof, looking for the leak's origin.

He thought he found the source of the problem and used a towel to push standing water from a rooftop gutter.

The pitter-patter persisted, however, and

a UW maintenance crew later put a temporary patch on the drip, which was coming from a light fixture in the bathroom.

Huntsman's now-former residence, a 40-room mansion that has housed 11 UW presidents before him, is succumbing to age.

The Board of Regents has approved $540,000 in remodeling and restoration to the 12,788 square foot, brick mansion -- colloquially referred to as 808.

The Walker-Ames Estate, the mansion's official name, is both a formal gathering spot for University events and a residence for UW presidential officeholders. Located at 808 36th Ave. NE, the house is situated in Seattle's Madison Park neighborhood. Surrounded by houses equally impressive in size, the presidential mansion is a few turns off Lake Washington Boulevard.

"The house is a great asset to the University," said Huntsman, "but it's also pretty dated."

The Board of Regents in May approved the use of $370,000 from the Walker-Ames Fund, a private endowment, for remodeling the second-floor living spaces. Huntsman suggested knocking out a few walls to convert two bedrooms and two bathrooms into a master suite.

The regents earmarked another $170,000 in general UW funds for energy-conservation work and general maintenance, such as painting and asbestos removal.

Other than routine maintenance, the house has not undergone a major renovation since an addition in 1958, said Executive Vice President Weldon Ihrig.

Periodic improvements, often done during presidential transitions, symbolize the changing of the guard as the UW prepares for its next leader.

"It's difficult to find times when a family isn't living in the home," said Ihrig. "It's logical to do maintenance between presidents."

Because the estate hosts over 2,000 guests a year, University officials see the investment going toward the benefit of the entire University.

"Unlike at other universities, this campus doesn't really have a place to host formal events," said Ihrig. "Statewide notables and political leaders, not just University people, visit the house."

The work is in the early stages; crews have assembled scaffolding and begun painting on the exterior of the three-story mansion.

Only preliminary designs of the remodel have been done, and contractors have not been selected, said Jeraldine McCray, associate vice president for facilities services.

The remodel is expected to be finished by mid-December, according to McCray. Until that time, incoming-President Mark Emmert and his family will stay in a temporary residence, Ihrig said.

Built in 1906, the president's residence was given to the UW by the Walker-Ames' in 1931. The family was involved in the lumber industry and part of the mansion is made of native fir and Honduras mahogany, according to historical documents.

Concrete pillars and a grand staircase welcome visitors coming through the main entrance. To the right of the entryway is a living and dining area used to host dinners and auctions.

Beyond the dining area is the sun room, an addition made in 1928. The modern, glass-encased room is a sharp contrast to the brick-sided colonial-style architecture that characterizes the rest of the home.

Atop the grand staircase is a built-in pipe organ, which was played by former president William Gerberding's wife, McCray said.

Numerous bedrooms and bathrooms fill the second and third floors. It is on the second floor where most of the remodeling will take place.

Oddly, the main closet area is in the carpeted bathroom, something the UW hopes to change in the remodel, McCray said.

Another odd characteristic is the "unusually tall" bathroom countertop, McCray said, put in to accommodate the height of John Hogness, who stood 6-feet, four-inches tall and was the UW's 27th president.

Many of the radiator valves, which have to be adjusted manually, are hard to reach, while other valves simply don't turn.

"When we went through the house, the first thing we discovered was what worked -- or didn't work," said Huntsman. "We had to call someone from facilities services just to adjust the heat."

Along with fixing the radiator valves, improvements will be made to the plumbing and wiring systems, said Dave Fields, a facilities services manager who oversees the house.

There is also asbestos in parts of the home that will be abated. While the asbestos has not been disturbed, it is being removed as a precautionary measure, McCray said.

And if the money is available, a small kitchenette on the second floor will be upgraded, according to McCray.

"We won't be going back to ask for more money, so we will have to draft plans that fit within the budget," she said.

While the list of needed renovations is long, 808 remains a valued estate -- recently assessed at $5,215,000, according to McCray.

Outside, massive rhododendrons border the property. From the side door a beaten path leads past a raspberry patch hidden below the main lawn. It was on this lawn that, during a 2001 protest for teachers-assistant unionization on the lawn of the house, then-President Richard McCormick offered protesters lemonade.

Below the first floor is a recreational room and a wine cellar that Fields called the "overflow" cellar. Cases of Becks, Red Hook, Pilsner Urquell and dozens of bottles of wine line the shelves of the "overflow" cellar.

While the mansion often moonlights as a bustling social venue for the University, few have accessed the house's clandestine rooftop porch. Tucked away on the third story of the mansion and accessible only by a small stepladder, the deck offers a pristine view of Bellevue's skyline.

"I promised myself that I would take my latte and a Sunday paper up there," said Huntsman. "I never made it."