Laurence Frank was enjoying a quiet dinner at his brother’s home in San Mateo, Calif., one summer evening in 2022 when he got a call: His house was on fire.

Fortunately for Dr. Frank, the small blaze had been extinguished by the time he arrived at the scene. Unfortunately for the house, a 1939 design by Frank Lloyd Wright in Hillsborough, Calif., the fire department did so by sawing off the end of the roof.

An insurance adjuster stopped by a few days later to assess the damage, and Dr. Frank explained that the house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the pre-eminent 20th-century American architect.

“He had no idea what I was talking about,” said Dr. Frank, who grew up in the house and works as a wildlife biologist studying African carnivores. “At that point, I knew I was in trouble.”

He had reason to be worried. Finding a local contractor to conduct faithful repairs and source the right materials (say, rotary-cut redwood veneers) would be daunting. As would the bills.