Old Home and Barn Restoration Resource Directory Blog

John H. Myers
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The windows on many historic buildings are an important aspect of the architectural character of those buildings. Their design, craftsmanship, or other qualities may make them worthy of preservation.

This is self-evident for ornamental windows, but it can be equally true for warehouses or factories where the windows may be the most dominant visual element of an otherwise plain building.

Evaluating the significance of these windows and planning for their repair or replacement can be a complex process involving both objective and subjective considerations. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and the accompanying guidelines, call for respecting the significance of original materials and features, repairing and retaining them wherever possible, and when necessary, replacing them in kind. This Brief is based on the issues of significance and repair which are implicit in the standards, but the primary emphasis is on the technical issues of planning for the repair of windows including evaluation of their physical condition, techniques of repair, and design considerations when replacement is necessary.

Much of the technical section presents repair techniques as an instructional guide for the do-it-yourselfer. The information will be useful, however, for the architect, contractor, or developer on large-scale projects. It presents a methodology for approaching the evaluation and repair of existing windows, and considerations for replacement, from which the professional can develop alternatives and specify appropriate materials and procedures.

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Inventive imitators can match the panache of stone without the overhead.

Slate shingles, traditionally split from natural stone, are known to perform for decades—even a century or more with good installation and regular maintenance. Since the 1890s, however, roofing manufacturers have been combining other materials to produce man-made shingles that aimed to last longer, look better, or cost less. Have any of these products ever lived up to their promise? Sometimes, yes.

Many a building roofed with asbestos cement shingles in the 1930s or ’40s is still sound and dry today—a testament to the durability of one of the oldest types of “slate pretenders.” When asbestos was eliminated in building products in the 1970s, though, it opened this specialized corner of the roofing industry to new materials and product types that have been growing ever since. Because the industry has changed once again since Old-House Journal last reviewed the subject in 2002, here we present our look at another round of seismic shifts in the field of slate stand-ins and what you should keep in mind when considering these remarkable materials for roofing a historic house.

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