Fireplaces were essential in Early American homes, providing heat, light, and a hearth for cooking, as well as a family gathering place. In Colonial America, they were usually wide, deep “walk-ins” without much of a mantel. Those in the homes of Dutch settlers were often wider than tall, while the English settlers built them to …
A Hearthside History: Fireplaces, Mantles, and the Early American Home Read More »
Lauren Dillion of Master of Plaster joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss: Her introduction to plaster as an art form The different types of plaster (I really didn’t know there were so many) – lime (there are different types of lime!), gypsum, and clay Lauren answered all of my lime wash questions Plus you …
Practical Preservation Podcast featuring Lauren Dillion of Master of Plaster Read More »
Yesterday, Preservation in Pink posted one of her “Preservation Pop Quiz” posts that featured some very decorative 3D brickwork. (If you know anything about 3D brickwork, you might want to pop over there and help us all out – we’re having a hard time identifying the term used to describe making 3D cornice work with …
One of our current projects, the Franklin Street Station in Reading, PA, involves restoration of dozens of windows and doors originally made in 1929. Seriously damaged by Hurricane Agnes, the building then sat abandoned and deteriorated from neglect and vagrant activity and by 2011 when BARTA began its restoration project for the building, this is is …
Sealing up a window from the past….. with window glazing Read More »
2. 10 Common Mistakes People Make While Working on their Historic Building. Structures are historic because the materials and craftsmanship reflected in their construction are tangible and irreplaceable evidence of our cultural heritage. Substitute materials subtract from the basic integrity, historically and architecturally, of buildings. Historic materials should be retained whenever possible. Since wood has …
On Thursday, April 22nd, any contractor working on a building with lead-based paint will have to be a lead-safe certified firm. The EPA is has written guidelines to help protect homeowners from lead dust and contractors have to complete a 8 hour training course. Helping to protect homeowners is important – the downside is the …
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 …
Sometimes I find gems buried in the piles of papers on my desk. This is from the Winter 2008-2009, HARBnews, published by the Historic Architectural Board of Review of the City of Lancaster. The speech was given on December 22, 1905 at the opening of the Stevens High School (corner of North Charlotte and West …
Tuesday afternoon I sat in on a webinar focused on what traditional products teach us about durability and sustainability (essentially green building). I am going to pass some the information from the webinar along during this post – next week I will be back to sharing information from the Traditional Building Conference. *In order to …
Webinar – Traditional Durable/ Sustainable Products Read More »
On Wednesday, October 28, Jonathan and Danielle attended a energy conservation workshop offered by LIVE Green and Pure Energy. We learned things that can be done within an older building (they used a city row house as the example) to help conserve energy. The importance of insulation and energy efficient appliances to significantly reduce heating …
© 2022 Practical Preservation | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Service