Indoor Air Quality

Fall Maintenance Tips for Your Historic Home

FALL MAINTENANCE FOR YOUR HISTORIC HOME – Fall is here. This brings Halloween fun, Thanksgiving, fall abundance, and cooler weather. It also signals the transition to winter and harsh conditions for our homes. We have often repeated, maintenance is essential for a home, especially an old or historical one. Read on for your fall maintenance …

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Practical Preservation Podcast Featuring the Meyers of White Chimneys

Jack and Jessica Meyer – father-daughter owners of  White Chimneys in Gap (Lancaster County), PA – joined the Practical Preservation Podcast to discuss their property’s history and their business. We covered multiple topics, including: The Meyers’ realization of their historic preservation values through the purchase and renovation of White Chimneys over the past 15 years …

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Practical Preservation Podcast Featuring Craig Meyer of UNICO

Craig Meyer, of the UNICO System, joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss information about the company’s history and current business in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). We covered a multitude of topics including: His background in marketing, business development, and engineering UNICO’s inception as a family-owned contracting business and American success-story with more …

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Modern Mortar for Repointing Bricks

Historical masonry buildings are very different from modern buildings.  Historical bricks were fired at lower temperatures and are much softer and more permeable than modern bricks and buildings constructed with these softer bricks were designed to absorb moisture and then release it.  A key component of this design was the lime mortar historically used in …

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Portland is a great place for a getaway….not so great for historic buildings.

Protect Historic Masonry Buildings from Permanent Damage Caused by Portland Mortar Historic masonry buildings are very different from modern buildings.  Historic bricks were fired at lower temperatures and are much softer and more permeable than modern bricks.  Historic buildings constructed with these softer bricks were designed to absorb moisture and then release it.  A key …

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Healthy Buildings, Healthy Humans, Healthy Histories

On Tuesday A. Tamasin Sterner from Pure Energy Coach spoke on the topic of indoor air quality at the monthly breakfast meeting for the Central Pennsylvania Preservation Society (CPPS).   A single hour in Tamasin’s presence, is easily one of the most informative hours you’ll ever experience in your life and Tuesday was no exception.  The Historic Restorations family and other …

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15 Steps to Weatherize Your Home

The November/December 2009 issue of Preservation Magazine featured an article, Getting Ready for Winter: 15 Steps to Efficiency. These tips are taken from this article. Insulate the attic (this is where the majority of your heat loss will occur – though the replacement window and door companies would have you believe it is on the …

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Restoration is Green Building

Green building is all the rage in the building industry. I can not open a remodeling or design/build magazine without a reference to a green building project. Preservation and restoration work is green in it’s approach. By using resources (building materials) that have already be harvested on land that has already be cleared is a …

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