Preservation Millwork for historic homes and buildings

Shawn Woolery, Proprietor

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Shawn Woolery

• What I do

• Why I do it

• What I want you to get out of today

Overview

• What is Preservation Millwork?

• Window Repair

• Window Replacement

• Millwork for Additions

The Meaning of Preservation

That what exists should be preserved.

The respectful way to preserve an historic house is to live in, use and maintain it as was originally intended.

The principle of preservation maintenance is to maintain through repair and replacement "in kind.”

Historic Window Repair

• Replacing sash cords

• Dry rot or termite damage

• Restoration

National Parks Service: Preservation Brief #9

Abitron for Repair

When should you replace?

When the originals are

• Not present

• Damaged beyond repair

–Warped, deteriorated, rotted, fire, flood

Replacement

In order to perfectly match the original windows in a historic building, you must make them

the same way they were originally built.

3 Things You Should Know

• Traditional Methods

• Period Machinery

• Wood Materials

Traditional Methods

• Mortise and tenon

– Simple and strong

–Proven reliability

–Used by woodworkers stonemasons and blacksmiths for thousands of years

Period Machinery

Surviving millwork in America’s historic buildings is a product of nineteenth-century machinery.

• Accurately match profiles and characteristics of the original

• Modern computerized machinery creates a look that’s too slick

Some of our equipment

History of Profiles

Hand Planed Machine

Wood

Softwood - Coniferous trees

• Pine, cypress, fir

• Cone-bearing, retain needles

• Distinct, annual rings

• Resinous

Hardwood - Deciduous trees

• Oak, maple, walnut

• Non-cone bearing, lose leaves

• Indistinct, annual rings

• Non-resinous

• Highly colored

Wood

Softwood was used because it common and easy to get.

• Inexpensive

• Readily available

• Easy to work with

• Durable

• Suitable for painting

Hardwoods were rarely used for exterior millwork because of high cost and limited availability.

Historic Millwork for Additions

• Appropriate size and dimensions

• Match design and profiles

• Match wood species

Appleton’s Five Principles

William Sumner Appleton founded the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA)

1. Proceed slowly and when in doubt, wait2. Hire experienced professionals to do the work3. Document every stage, taking plenty of pictures4. Save samples of the originals as evidence when

anything must be replaced5. Mark the new work so that it cannot be later

confused with the original

Preservation Millwork for historic homes and buildings

Shawn Woolery, Proprietor

www.sandiegosashcompany.com

6 1 9 . 749. 1591

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