Share Your Home's Story

Submitted by National Trust at: June 1, 2011
Cay, take a look at our Find Funding page at this link, http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/find-funding/historic-homes-funding.html, and our FAQs at this link, http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/faq/historic-homes/. Also, contact your State Historic Preservation Office and Statewide Preservation Partner to see what resources may be available to you; please visit the following page for their contact information, http://www.preservationnation.org/contacts/.

Submitted by Cay at: May 31, 2011
I want to fix my historic home. We don't have enough money, and everyone in my house wants to move and I do not. I love this house. I've lived it for so long.....When my town (Lynchburg) use to be real popular we had a train station and a distillery for beer, and the town was really popular. But after it burnt down slowly after the town just got less and less popular...My house is an apartment type of building and sits on main street. My grandparents own my house. We own the four middle parts. Two on top and two on bottom. The bottom left use to be a movie theater, and the other side use to be a store and butcher shop. The top left was a resident/ hotel through the days and the other side (top right) use to be a bordering house. I would really love to keep the house, but it's too expensive and needs alot of work that we can't afford..

Submitted by window envy at: January 25, 2010
We have 8 windows on the main floor of our 1949 minimal traditional Tudor in Salt Lake City. All were replaced with metal, double-paned, double-hungs in their original openings by the previous owner. However, now roughly 15 years later, the warranty has been expired for several years, we have one window with the insulation seal broken, and three others with the hardware broken. We just had an energy audit conducted and it confirmed our belief that the one unsealed window is the major problem until the other windows start to breakdown further. But we look at the historic photos of the house and wish we would have had the chance to change the course of this decision for the better and restore the originals rather than select new in a few years.

Submitted by Ann at: January 20, 2010
Restoring our original paned, double sash windows ourselves really requires them to be removed and completed one by one in our workshop/garage. For the first couple of restorations, we used plywood to cover the hole while we worked on the windows, but it looked pretty hideous, especially since each window takes a couple of months-plus (putty really needs time to harden, etc). We hit on idea of using temporary windows that we got from our local architectural salvage store (Second Chance in Baltimore). Had to measure carefully and hunt to find ones that were right size, but at $10 each they were cheap and look almost like the originals. These temporary replacements have given us a way to take the time we need to work on the originals without having the house look awful.

Submitted by Mahina at: November 16, 2009
I decided not to put central air in my 100-year-old two-stsory four-square home in San Antonio. I figured that if my uncle, aunt, father, grandmother, and great-grandmother all lived in the house without it, I could use a minimum of energy to keep myself safe, healthy, and comfortable without spending thousands to install a unit that would require me to heat or cool the whole house or large parts of it. With tall trees to the south and west, I planted a garden that cools the hosue down even more and protects against winter winds. Then I opened windows in the summer and got used to the heat. I now find 90+ degrees is comfortable--I keep looking at the thermometer and not believing it is that hot. And 100 degrees is do-able, though I occasionally use a window unit if I feel like it. The interior doesn't get hotter than 90 usually. For winter, I have a couple of modern gas space heaters (to replace the horrid, unsafe ones) with new safety features that make them safe and cheaper to operate than electric. I heat in the room(s) I'm in. And I buy wool sweaters and down comforters to avoid using the heaters until I really must. I have low bills, as you can guess. Only problem is turning on the heater in the bathroom a hour before I get into the shower in the morning. This may not work for a whole family roaming around every room, but it works for me. And--it worked for my whole family when grandmother was visiting great-grandmother with 4 kids in tow.

Submitted by no replacements at: September 7, 2009
a window replacement guy is going door to door in my historic neighborhood...i don't think he was quite ready for me and my arguments why replacements aren't what the are cracked up to be. now if only i could get my neighbors to listen too. thanks for helping spread the word

Submitted by lee at: August 28, 2009
Drew, check out the National Park Service website's info on windows at this link: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/tpscat.htm and check out our resources for historic homeowners at http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/historic-homeowners.html

Submitted by Drew at: August 25, 2009
I just purchased a 1959 ranch house that I love but it needs help with its original windows (some are broken and the latches won't all close properly). Where can I go for help to learn how to do the work myself? I'm new to the whole homeowner thing but want to do the right thing and definitely don't intend to rip out or replace my windows. Thanks for the help, great information!

Submitted by Gutter-less in PA at: August 19, 2009
I have a 1920s English Cottage style house with slate roof and half-round gutters. Last winter the gutters on my porch collapsed following a storm. I tried to do the right thing but finding a contractor prooved to be a challenge. Long story short, after several failed attempts...no shows and outrageous quotes -- I finally found a contractor that was affordable (maybe too much) and understood what I was looking for. Several months later, lots of calls and a answering machine that said the contractor was no longer in business -- along wit my deposit and no gutters, I moved on. Finding people that are affordable, show up and understand old houses is a huge problem. We need more apprentices and craftspeople to help homeowners do the job right. Thanks for helping point us in the right direction on the how-tos, now if I can just find a contractor that show up. Signed, Gutter-less in PA.

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