Historic Restoration

How Complete Restorations Happen: A Case Study of the John Maddox Denn House

  A number of years ago, we had the very fortunate luck to be given the opportunity to completely restore the Denn House in southern New Jersey.  Below is the story of how that restoration happened, excerpted from Lois Groshong’s book, “2001 Restoration of a Southern New Jersey Colonial”. Be sure to check out the …

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Resources for Restorations: Book Recommendations

  Our recent blog post from Ken Roginski about the mistakes and and “no-no’s” that are so often made by well-meaning historic building owners as they attempt to preserve a house through the years reminded us very much about a project we did a few years ago.  The John Maddox Denn House project was built in 1725 and …

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Historic Preservation in Progress at the Wilmington Library

Historic Preservation in Progress is a series of our posts where we show you how historic preservation happens, as it’s happening. Historic Preservation in Progress The Wilmington Public Library The Wilmington Library was built in 1922 and has remained a landmark on Rodney Square for ninety years.  Especially in recent years, due to heavy use by …

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Out of the Mouths of Preservationists: Common Preservation Terms Explained

  One of the most common barriers between preservationists and those who do not define themselves as preservationists, is the language we building-huggers use.  So here are some common preservation terms defined: [sws_toggle1 title=”Historic Context”]Historic Context is a unit created for planning purposes that groups information about historic properties based on a shared theme, specific time …

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Traditional Joinery: What it is and why is it important in preservation?

  Traditional joinery is a term we’ve all heard as a hallmark of historical millwork.  But what is it and why is it so important in preservation of historic buildings? What is Traditional Joinery? Joinery in general is the woodworking technique that joins together two pieces of wood.  What a joint looks like, how strong …

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Free Webinar: "Credits Where Credits Are Due: Tax Credits for Historic Preservation Projects"

Produced by Restore Media: Clem Labine’s Traditional Building, Clem Labine’s Period Homes, and the Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference, the following free webinar is being offered on September 19th: Click here to register for this webinar. Credits Where Credits Are Due: Tax Credits for Historic Preservation Projects  September 18, 2012, 2:00 p.m., 90 minutes, 1.5 AIA HSW LUs …

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Pennsylvania's Architectural Styles

  Do you know the architectural styles of Pennsylvania?                     The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has an excellent field guide on the architectural styles found in Pennsylvania.  In it, they’ve assigned key periods of development (listed below) – from the Colonial period in the 18th Century to the …

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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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Preservationist vs. revisionist history – is there a time and a place for both?

Since I put last month’s e-newsletter to bed (obligatory you can sign up here) yesterday morning (hey, that e-newsletter is one wild party animal on the weekends), I’ve started researching this month’s snail-mail newsletter (another obligatory you can sign up for that one here).  We’re delving into the history at Independence National Park in Philadelphia since it’s fresh …

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