Historic Preservation: Four Methods to Preserving an Historic Building (2022)
There are many benefits to historic preservation. Restoring historic buildings helps connect our society and our community to the past of our neighborhoods. This helps foster a sense of connectedness and culture within our town or city.
Buildings such as libraries, hospitals, and cathedrals gives us a chance to study what came before us and examine the trajectory of our growth. Historic preservation gives us a chance to see how much building techniques and styles have changed over the years.
Restoring historic structures also gives us the opportunity to use historic structures as learning tools. It also benefits tourism, boosts the economy, and makes the areas that we reside in infinitely more interesting. Any form of remodeling or renovation is more environmentally friendly than a new build.
And how tragic would it be to tear down that gorgeous mid-century bungalow that is just in need of some updating and tender loving care?
In this article we will take a look at four methods of preserving an historic building.
REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation involves adding to or altering a property to allow it to keep up with its current use while respecting its historic character.
RECONSTRUCTION
Using old photographs, reconstruction aims to reconstruct something similar to match aspects of the home that are no longer there. This could be reconstructing an old door or a stained glass window.
PRESERVATION
Preservation is maintaining the current, existing structure without altering it. This could be refinishing or varnishing floorboards so the floor can continue to be used for another 50 years. Techniques used will match techniques used historically.
RESTORATION
Historic restoration is restoring the property to how it existed in a specific moment in history. This can include examining materials under a microscope to determine the original paint colors. Typically this will include using specific building materials to ensure historical accuracy as well as meet codes.
Choosing historical preservation is the perfect way to honor and respect your community and its tradition.
At Creative Home Designers, we can help you make your property look better than the original while maintaining historic integrity. We will connect you with experts in historic preservation and we can help you plan a rehabilitation, reconstruction, or restoration that maintains historic accuracy and will be the talk of the town for years to come.
Contact us today with your questions about your historic preservation. We can help you from the pre-planning stages all the way through to completion of your beautiful historic preservation goals.
Historic preservation can be a daunting project to tackle. Creative Home Designs is here to help you rehabilitate or restore your historic home from floor to ceiling as smoothly as possible.
During the process, you and a designer will:
Sit down for a consultation to discuss your vision
Take measurements on-site for your design
Create plans for room addition or home remodeling work
We will also recommend trusted builders and experts to help you finalize your designs using our extensive network of Oklahoma providers.
Schedule a consultation to create your house designs in Oklahoma City or Tulsa, Oklahoma by calling 405-270-6417 today.