South front, in February 1950, with a debris chute fitted to the window of the Monroe sitting room. President Truman’s new balcony is clearly visible. Soon after moving into the White House in 1945, President Truman noticed large areas of cracking in the plaster throughout the house. A structural survey revealed major problems caused by stress from the 1902 floor-bearing steel beams and the weight of the third floor and roof, all pressing against the inner brick walls. In 1948 Truman appointed a Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion that decided to retain the original walls, the third floor and the roof, while removing and then reinstalling the interiors within a skeleton of steel structural beams on a new concrete foundation. In the end, little of the 19th-century or early 20th-century interiors were retained. Two levels of subbasements, and service areas under the North Portico were constructed, and the Grand Staircase was substantially changed. Of the state floor rooms, only the State Dining Room walls were reinstalled, but then were painted.