While historic buildings possess much embodied energy and quality building materials, there is no arguing that many of these buildings lack energy efficient HVAC systems. In a country that is growing increasingly aware of the need for sustainable building practices, it is important for the preservation community to both protect and retrofit the historic building stock.

The National Park Service has published two briefs that discuss HVAC and energy efficiency in historic buildings: Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings (brief 3) and Heating, Ventilating, and Cooling Historic Buildings: Problems and Recommended Approaches (brief 24).

Lead-based paints were widely used for both exterior and interior applications until 1978, when the federal government banned the use of this toxic material in residential housing. Consequently, most historic homes in the United States contain some lead-based paint, often located beneath recent layers of non-lead-based paint.

Due to the hazard of lead poisoning from ingesting lead it is important to carefully plan and implement lead-hazard control measures that seek to preserve historically significance materials and features while protecting both the environment and human health and safety.

The National Park Service provides such information in Preservation Brief 37: Appropriate Methods for Reducing Lead-Paint Hazards in Historic Housing.

Limewash is a mixture of slake lime and water, sometimes with additional ingredients, that is a traditional finish. The National Park Service National Center for Preservation Technology and Training has produced a short video demonstrating how to prepare and apply limewash.

It can be difficult to abide by building codes without compromising the integrity of a historic structure. While safety and accessibility are extremely important issues for architecture today, they were not always considered in the construction of our historic buildings. Consequently, many historic structures must be updated to align with codes and regulations, which can be a daunting task.

North Carolina’s historic windows are vanishing at an alarming rate. Property owners replace them because they are led to believe that replacement windows will bring instant energy savings or because they don’t realize that there are ways to repair and restore original sash. Yet once replaced, these historic artifacts are gone for good.

Here are some answers and resources on kinds of historic windows, how they can be energy efficient, how they can be fixed and who can help restore them.

(Courtesy of Gaston Co. Preservation Commission)

When an owner of a local historic landmark or a resident within a historic district wants to make changes to the exterior of his or her property, a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) is needed from the historic preservation commission (HPC) in addition to other permits that may apply. The COA grants permission to follow through with proposed work that is compatible with the preservation ordinance. If changes are inconsistent with the commission guidelines, the HPC will reject the application. Routinue maintenance and interior work do not require a COA. (Examples of routinue maintenance and minor and major works).

The UNC School of Government, together with the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, began the Small Towns, Big Ideas project in 2006 to identify and record small towns that were implementing successful or original methods to community economic development. The results of this study lead to the creation of a searchable database that includes case studies about these small towns.

View more information here.