Historic Restoration

APPROACHING WORK ON YOUR OLD HOME: PART 2

PART 2 OF THIS SERIES of working on your old home explores replacement in-kind. Replacement in-kind refers to replicating the original in all respects except improved condition, when absolute preservation is not possible. This is a follow-up to Part 1’s general information about maintaining your home’s historical relevance and period style. Regarding replacement, it is …

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APPROACHING WORK ON YOUR OLD HOME: PART 1

PART 1 OF THIS SERIES of working on your old home explores options for property owners to save the home’s historically relevant aspects specific to when and how it was built, versus mixing time periods and styles. Maintaining your home’s historical relevance necessitates preservation and restoration tactics that honor the home’s appropriate time period. If …

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The Importance of Maintaining Your Historical House

Historical buildings and houses are artifacts of the past, a visible connection to our history, and require a certain level of care beyond the basic seasonal maintenance you would perform on a newer home or building – inspecting the roof, cleaning the gutters, exterior repairs to damage caused by weather and age, as well as …

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Preservation Pointers: Internal Gutter Systems

Typically, on homes built in the mid-1800’s until the early 1900’s, the most unexpected maintenance problem deals with the internal gutter system. This is because the problem is hidden until the failure has begun. However, regular inspection and maintenance can catch the problem before it is too late, and damage is done. First, I bet …

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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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PA Architecture Queen Anne Style

This article is a part of a series from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s excellent field guide on the architectural styles found in Pennsylvania.  In it, they’ve assigned key periods of development – from the Colonial period in the 18th Century to the Modern Movements of the 29th Century.  This article focuses on an overview of the …

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PA Architecture Traditional Octogon

This article is a part of a series from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s excellent field guide on the architectural styles found in Pennsylvania.  In it, they’ve assigned key periods of development – from the Colonial period in the 18th Century to the Modern Movements of the 29th Century.  This article focuses on an overview of the …

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Preservation in Progress: Wilmington Public Library

We recently completed a restoration project of some truly massive doors at the Wilmington Public Library in Delaware. The library was built in 1922 with the bold shapes and lavish ornaments of the Art Deco style of architecture popular at that time. We restored a pair 22’6’ tall, 10-panel White Oak and Mahogany pocket doors.  …

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Wood Window Restoration Project at Anselma Mill

  We recently completed a historic wood window restoration project at the Mill at Anselma. Those who are into vintage and historic architecture can check this out as this mill is a gem of historic architecture in our country – the most complete example of a functioning historic grist mill in the entire country. History …

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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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