Preserving Historic Architecture

The National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior, knows preservation. In its hundred-year existence, the service has dealt with just about every problem an old structure can have. Whether it is removing graffiti in Manhattan or rebuilding a barn in Oregon, the National Park Service knows what to do. Here are the official U.S. guidelines, a lively and instructive collection of tried and tested knowledge and reliable techniques, written by the top experts in the field.

Over forty fully illustrated chapters addressing topics such as:

— cleaning and waterproof coating of historic masonry

— roofing for historic buildings

— the preservation of historic glazed architectural terra-cotta

— exterior paint problems on historic woodwork — the preservation of historic barns

— heating, ventilating, and cooling historic buildings

— historic signs

— applied decoration for historic interiors

— using substitute materials on historic building exteriors

— understanding old buildings

— understanding architectural cast iron