PART 3, THE FINAL PIECE IN THIS 3-PART SERIES of working on your old home explores using a good design. Using a good design refers to integrating additions, renovations, or even new construction into your historical building, not necessarily “copying” historical architecture contemporaneous to your building’s era. It simply needs to integrate with the historical …
Steven Bohnet of Bohnet Electric Co. joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his 113 year old family business of electric contracting and a lighting showroom that also features light fixture restoration and lamp repair. We covered a multitude of topics including: The pros and cons of the Corporate (commerical) versus Non-Profit restoration/preservation projects Why …
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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 …
When most people think about the post-World War II era of the 1950’s, among the things they think about are iconic TV shows like “Howdy Doody” and “The Ed Sullivan Show,” presidents Truman and Eisenhower, Rock-n-Roll, the emergence of teen culture, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe movies, and the Cold War. But historical preservationists equate …
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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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 …
Charles Flickinger from Flickinger Glassworks joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his business and career as an artisan. Our conversation varied from minimalist living to repairing curved glass of the Statute of Liberty flame. Curved glass is a speciality, niche business and Charles has collected over 4,000 steel molds from different projects (I learned …
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Michael Cuba from the Timber Framers Guild joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss: Timber framing, of course, but also the differences between modern and repair/preservation techniques. I had never thought about building timber frames in earthquake prone areas…they have the engineering figured out for that! Learning using hand tools to insure you understand how …
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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 …
Historical buildings were built when neither advancements in technology nor construction technology was in abundant supply. Early designers made the most of building materials and design options to construct buildings with a powerful combination of harnessed natural resources and innovative design that worked together to maximize energy efficiency. Everything from exterior paint colors, locations of …
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