General Information
Preservation Briefs - easy-to read guidance on preserving, rehabilitating and restoring historic buildings
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Property are intended to promote resposnsible preservation practices. There are four treatment approaches: Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction. For the purposes of the Section 106 review, if your rehab property is historic, we’ll use the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
The National Park Service’s Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitation, although meant for tax credit projects, is useful.
Historic Properties and the Lead Safe Housing Rule – This explains HUD’s Lead Safe Housing Rule’s allowance for interim controls instead of abatement on historic properties.
Preservation Myths by Don Hartley. Well worth a reading, Mr. Hartley addresses a number of myths, including:
-
I can save lots of money by replacing my old wood windows with new, energy efficient windows.
-
I can fix damaged brick and/or make my building look more historic by covering it with stucco.
-
The presence of any asbestos or lead in an historic building poses a severe health hazzard.
Seven Ways to Weatherize - from the Old House Journal
Weatherization Guide for Older & Historic Buildings – Great advice for making older buildings more energy efficient without jeopardizing their unique character
Sustainability and Historic Preservation - for those interested in going green
Historic Preservation is Inherently Sustainable from the Louisiana SHPO
The Michigan Historic Preservation Network provides practical preservation workshops on a variety of topics. More information can be obtained on their website. They also maintain the Historic Research Council listing of preservation professionals. While not a comprehensive list of all preservation professionals, it is a great starting point.
Windows
We now have an entire page devoted to windows.
Vinyl / Aluminum Siding
Preservation Brief 8: Aluminum and Vinyl Siding on Historic Buildings
Vinyl Siding – The Real Issues - a .pdf from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation explaining why vinyl siding is a problem for historic preservation.
The Lifecycle of Vinyl - A look at the manufacturing, use, and disposal of vinyl from bluevinyl.org
Vinyl and Aluminum Siding - Some illustrations of how synthetic siding changes the appearance of historic structures
Mortar
Traditional Mortar – A great guide by Kalamazoo’s Old House Network
Commercial Buildings
Anatomy of a Main Street Building - Great diagram of a commercial building with labels, from the Illinois Main Street Program, through the National Main Street Center
Preservation Brief 1: Assessing Cleaning and Water-Repellant Treatments for Historic Masonry Buildings
Preservation Brief 2: Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings
Preservation Brief 6: Dangers of Abrasive Cleaning to Historic Buildings
Preservation Brief 7: The Preservation of Historic Glazed Architectura Terra-Cotta
Preservation Brief 11: Rehabilitating Historic Storefronts
Preservation Brief 12: The Preservation of Historic Pigmented Structural Glass (Vitrolite and Carrara Glass)
Preservation Brief 25: The Preservation of Historic Signs
Preservation Brief 27: The Maintenance and Repair of Architectural Cast Iron
Preservation Brief 32: Making Historic Buildings Accessible
Preservation Brief 38: Removing Graffiti from Historic Masonry
Preservation Brief 42: The Maintenance, Repair, and Replacement of Historic Cast Stone
Preservation Brief 44: The Use of Awnings on Historic Buildings
