Kansas City, Mo. ? The good news is that Homer Williams lives in a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the world’s best-known architects. That’s the bad news, too, as the unique characteristics of the 40-year-old house have made a much-needed repair and renovation project extraordinarily expensive.

Williams, himself an architect, won’t say exactly how much he’s spending on the remodeling project, which is expected to run through September, other than that it’s running into six figures.

“When my neighbor calls the plumber, they just come in and fix whatever it is,” Williams said. “When I call a plumber, they have to go to a machine shop and get parts made, because everything in the house is custom-designed.

“I’ve had significant water damage, and I’ve been limping along with Band-Aid repairs for years,” he said. “The terne metal roof was supposed to have enough copper in it that it wouldn’t rust. But I guarantee you that it did rust.”

The stone and concrete “desert-style” house was built by Frank and Eloise Bott, who owned a dairy in Kansas City, Kan., on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and downtown Kansas City. Wright, who died in 1959, drew up plans for the house late in his long career, and it was completed in 1963.

The house features a large living room ringed by cooking, study and sleeping space, and a suspended patio provides a commanding view. More floors extend down the bluff to a room that opens into a garden.

“It’s a fine house,” said Donald Hoffmann, a former architecture critic for The Kansas City Star who has written eight books about Wright’s work. “The site gave him a chance to really extend that balcony way out into space.”

Williams had become friends with Mrs. Bott, who shared his interest in Wright and architecture. After her husband died, Williams helped her solve maintenance and repair problems, and she gave him the opportunity to buy the house after her death. He and his wife, Mary Kay, have lived there since 1987.

It’s one of only two Wright-designed homes in Kansas City, and its furnishings, also designed by the famous architect, are still intact, though in need of work.

The Williamses are doing their best to use materials that keep Wright’s intent alive. For years, Williams studied whether to replace the roof with more terne metal or switch to copper. Ultimately, he decided to use a rubberized polymer from Switzerland called Sarnafil, placing it over the old roof. The turquoise color is the same as the original paint on the metal roof.

“It’s as expensive as copper,” Williams said. “But with our freeze-and-thaw cycles, I decided to use something that will give better protection during the temperature changes.”

Some rotted mahogany in the eaves is being replaced with cedar. All the boards have to be planed to fit odd angles on the roof and eaves.

“Everything has a slope to it,” said carpentry superintendent Shane Caswell. “Everything has a planed or slightly beveled edge. There’s no square point in the home.”

Some chairs and couches need new upholstery, and while Williams is looking for a matching fabric, he’s willing to make do with what he can find. He’s going to have an outdoor patio bench jacked up so a nearby collapsed stone wall can be rebuilt, and concrete flooring will be poured on the patio, replacing the stone and dirt original.

While some purists might consider using anything but the original materials sacrilege, Williams says, “But I’m the one paying for it.”

Hoffmann, the architecture critic, finds no fault with Williams’ approach. “Homer has tried very hard to do it right,” he said. “He’s been a good caretaker.”