Historic house expos

On Saturday October 8th, the DC Preservation League is sponsoring a historic house expo in Columbia Heights.

Historic House Toolbox
Saturday, October 8, 2011
All Souls Church, Unitarian
1500 Harvard Street, NW
10:00AM-1:00PM
Metro: Columbia Heights (Green Line)

Join DC Preservation League and Historic Mount Pleasant for the opportunity to receive FREE individualized attention from contractors and seasoned professionals who will answer your questions on a range of topics including: working with architects and contractors, roofing, wood windows, masonry, ironwork, painting, energy efficiency and much more.

Two on-site learning sessions will focus on researching the history of your property; and energy audits and greening your house without compromising its historic integrity.

FREE and Open to the Public
Registration Required


Greater Mid-Atlantic Historic Home Show & Designer Craftsmen Show
October 28-30
Fredericksburg, VA

Old House Journal Magazine is sponsoring a similar but much bigger program in late October. I hope to be able to attend it myself.

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I think these kinds of programs are very important because too often, preservationists (or governments generally) "dictate" rules without providing the kind of assistance or education you need in order to carry out the rules efficiently and cost-effectively. This is different from manuals and such. DC publishes great resources, as does the Federal Historic Preservation Program, and many other preservation organizations do as well. E.g., the Capitol Hill Restoration Society has great publications on topics relevant to the historic building stock of that neighborhood.

In a world where most tradespeople focus on new construction, finding people who can do high quality work on older houses is difficult, even in a place like Washington, DC, which has at least 100,000 buildings dating before 1930.

These kinds of trade shows are great places to learn from presentations, but also from the exhibitors, and when you can do contractor consultations too, that's helpful as well.