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Historic Homes
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Restoring, Improving, or Fixing Up a Home
Are you feeling inspired to work on your own home after visiting this site? While certainly not the most comprehensive list,
we'd like to provide external links that you may find useful to either work on or come up with ideas for your own home.
We have no relationship with any of these websites, but have found them
to be useful.
Not even sure what the style of your house is? A website based in Oregon has an article detailing some of the more popular
home styles in the United States.
Let's start easy--two of the most popular websites that are geared towards homeowners are the website for This Old House and Home
and Garden TV. Both provide details on home projects, ideas for improvements, and even streaming video that may help guide you
through your next project. Even if you are not a do-it-yourselfer, these are good resources for ideas.
Are you ready for the next step of taking on a project yourself? While it doesn't have a bunch of
website bells and whistles, the hammerzone provides several project guides complete with photos. I
found the site based on their article how
to build Victorian window trim. Outstanding! Next, the contractor talk forum may be just the place for you to ask
questions or seek answers to common questions.
A great way to add eye appeal to your home is by adding just the right hardware. Historic House Parts offers a wide selection of
reproduction hardware. Also, Renovators Supply does as well.
If you are jealous of the stained glass windows in the Kerr - Carpenter -Haigis home, one way to spruce up your own house may be
to add a stained glass panel to a window. Instead of replacing a window or buying one from Andersen with art glass, you may be
able to buy a stained glass panel and just hang it in an existing window/door space.
Part of the art in working on an old home is picking the right materials. After all, if you have a house built in 1790, you just
can't slap down Pergo flooring through the house. Looking for old and weathered wood to finish a room? There are companies
throughout New England that specialize in reclaimed wood.
With energy costs near an all time high, are you ready to add a little renewable energy to your home? If you're still burning normal incandescent bulbs in your home, then you need to start with the basics.
When solar power first became a reality, adding it to a home involved installing large panels on your
rooftop. Typically, however, large solar panels don't quite look right on a historic home. But with
recent advances in technology, solar power is now available via a shingle. Really, I'm not making this up--a This Old
House story filled me in and it is available here:
One man documented his experience in installing solar shingles on his roof in Michigan. It is perhaps the best running
dialogue
of the process that I have read:
In nearby Hudson Massachusetts The Alternative Energy Store offers all sorts for renewable energy equipment to homeowners.
Better yet,
they offer classes for those interested in adding this technology to their own homes.
Another local company, DC Solar and Alternative Energy Center in Plymouth
Massachusetts also provides alternative energy equipment.
Please check back for updates - This page last updated 4/27/08
Preservation Briefs Many how-to restoration guides for historic homes and barns.