Help for Historic Home Owners

Practical Preservation Podcast featuring Sharon Hanby-Robie of Home by SHR

Sharon Hanby-Robie joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss her interior design philosophy, her new brand of home furnishings “Home by SHR“, how color influences our emotions (it is the second strongest emotional trigger with scent being the first). Throughout her over forty year career in interior design Sharon has ‘reinvented’ herself many times (successfully) …

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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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Porches, Doors, and Historic Preservation

At first glance, porches and doors may seem like no more than a way to get in or out of a home or business.   But there is much more to these architectural gateways.  They are frequently exemplary examples of carpentry that give us a peek into the artisanship of our architectural history and have …

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Planning a Historic Building Construction Project

A solid plan is critical for any construction project. Solid planning will ensure more efficient implementation of your project, limit schedule disturbances and project problems, and control your project’s budget. Proper planning will also reduce the chances of causing irreparable damage to your building. A good plan for any project on your historical building should …

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Choosing a Preservation Contractor

Did you know that approximately 40 percent of home improvement projects today are the direct result of the poor workmanship or improper materials installed by a previous contractor? You need to arm yourself with the knowledge to research, interview, and weed out the well-intentioned but inexperienced firms or the simply rogue contractors. A few warning …

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Put Replacement Windows to Shame: What that Nice Salesperson Doesn't Want You to Know

“We regret much of what we’ve built; we regret much of what we’ve torn down. But we’ve never regretted preserving anything.” -Daniel Sack Original windows serve a dual purpose of providing ventilation and light while being an important part of the buildings architectural design. These windows are constantly under attack from the marketing forces of …

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PENELOPE'S PRESERVATION POINTERS: What to do when you think you need to replace your historic wood windows

Hi! I’m Penelope and I’m new around here, but my Mommy and Daddy know a lot about historic preservation and have been teaching me new things every day. Yesterday they taught me not to chew on Karri’s office slippers (even if I really want to) and then they taught me something that really blew my …

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6 TIPS to Improve the Energy Efficiency of Historic Buildings

  Increasing energy efficiency in historic buildings is always a hot topic. Here are our Top Six Tips for improving the energy efficiency in historic buildings:   Have a Maintenance Appraisal Performed to Increase the Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings When not properly maintained, there are many ways energy efficiency in historic buildings suffers – …

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What to Avoid When Replacements on a Historical Building are Unavoidable

  It is easy to think that if the look of a historical building is maintained, as well as the types of materials used, then the building has been successfully preserved. But preservation is not just about preserving how something looks, it is primarily focused on preserving how something is so that it remains as …

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