Home Maintenance & Preservation Resources

About NRF / News / Home Maintenance & Preservation Resources

Want to learn more about Historic Home Maintenance? Check out NRF’s recommendations for expert resources in common mistakes, National Preservation Organizations, vinyl, windows, books and more!

 

Restoration – Common Mistakes

Two documents on common restoration mistakes can be found at: http://www.cttrust.org/index.cgi/98

 

National Park Service Preservation Briefs

 The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief09.htm

Understanding Old Buildings: The Process of Architectural Investigation:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief35.htm

Roofing for Historic Buildings: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief04.htm

The Repair, Replacement & Maintenance of Historic Slate Roofs:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief29.htm

Other Preservation Briefs found at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/presbhom.htm

 

Vinyl Siding – What to Consider

Vinyl Siding: The Real Issues (from CT Trust for Historic Preservation): http://www.cttrust.org/index.cgi/1745

The Vinyl Lie (The reputability of this source is uncertain but the points he makes are, in general, very accurate.): http://www.oldlouisville.com/circa1900/Vinyl-Lie.htm

 

Windows

Nice summary on Saving Wood Windows from New Jersey’s Preservation office: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/4sustain/windowsave.pdf

Quick article with further instructions from eBuild.com: http://www.ebuild.com/guide/resources/product-news.asp?ID=211787&catCode=10

A Rhode Island – based wood window restorer: http://www.smithrestorationsash.com/

 

Preservation Websites

www.SPNEA.org

Historic New England (formerly Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities) www.vernaculararchitectureforum.org

Information, publications, and organization information

www.nthp.org

National Trust book catalog

www.ptn.org

Preservation Trades Network, information & links of interest

www.apti.org

The Association for Preservation Technology International

www.cr.nps.gov/

National Park Service preservation services, source of Preservation Briefs & other materials

www.heritagepreservation.org

Preservation information and good links

www.oldhouseweb.com

Covers many areas of old house maintenance and repair – useful

www.oldhousejournal.com

Site of the magazine of the same title, covers many areas and is regularly up-dated

www.traditional-building.com

Another magazine site with very good resource listings

 

Historic Product Vendors & Resources

www.abatron.com

Abatron Inc. 1-800-445-1754, epoxy wood fillers and a range of epoxy products

www.obdyke.com

Cedar Breather, 1-800-346-7655, a product that creates air space between shingles and sheathing

www.chimneys.com

General site with information and further links concerning chimney and fireplace safety products

www.chimneysweeps.com

List, by state, of licensed sweeps, information and links

www.thermocreteusa.com

Explains the process and benefits of this unique chimney lining process

www.ncsg.org

National Chimney Sweeps Guild, another listing of sweeps and info.

www.paiint.org

Various information on paint coating and links

www.paintinfo.com

Variety of paint areas covered

www.paintquality.com

Similar to above site

www.PRGinc.com

Products, information, & excellent book catalog

www.preservationweb.com

Products and services

www.usheritage.com

Masonry services & products

 

PRESERVATION & RESTORATION – Books

General Preservation Titles

Barthel, Diane

Historic Preservation, Rutgers University Press, 1966 Brand, Stuart

How Buildings Learn, Penguin Books, 1994.

Lindgren, James M.

Preserving Historic New England, Oxford University Press, 1995.

Mansfield, Howard

The Same Ax, Twice, University Press of New England, 2000.

Preservation Guides & References

Bristow, Ian

Interior House Paint Colours & Technique 1615 – 1846, Yale Univ. Press, 1996.

Bucher, Ward, editor

Dictionary of Building Preservation, Preservation Press, 1996.

Bullock, Orin M.

The Restoration Manuel, Silvermine Publishers, 1966 Candee, Richard

House Paints in Colonial America, Chromatic Publishing Co., out of print.

Hoadley, R. Bruce

Identifying Wood Taunton Press, 1990.

Kitchen, Judith L.

Caring For Your Old House, Preservation Press, 1991.

Maycock, Susan & Zimmerman,Sarah

Painting Historic Exteriors, Cambridge Historical Commission, 1998.

Millar, William

Plastering Plain and Decorative, BUT. Bats ford, 1897; reprinted Don head Publishing Ltd., 2001.

Miller, Judith & Martin

Period Finishes and Effects, Rizzoli, 1992.

Moss, Roger, editor

Paint in America, Preservation Press, 1994.

Nash, George

Restoring Old Houses, Taunton Press, 1998.

Phillips, Steven J.

Old House Dictionary, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994.

Weeks, Kay D. & Grimmer, Anne E.

The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1995.

Whelehel, Harriet – editor

Caring For Your Historic House, Harry Abrams Inc., 1998.

Wilbur, C. Keith

Homebuilding & Woodwork in Colonial America, The Globe Pequot Press, 1992.

 

General Architectural, 18th century

Ayres, James

Building the Georgian City, Yale University Press, 1998.

Cummings, Abbott Lowell

The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, Belknap Press, 1979.

Palladio, Andrea

The Four Books on Architecture, MIT Press 1998.

Parissien, Steven

The Georgian House in Britain and America, Rizzoli, 1995.

Trevernor, Robert

Palladio and Palladianism, Thames and Hudson, 1991.

Hafertepe, Keneth & O’Gorman, James F.

American Architects and Their Books to 1848, University of Press, 2001.