Loving Your Old House

Breathe New Life into Your Historic Home: Registration Now Open for "Loving Your Old House" Program

Historic Madison, Inc. has opened registration for the next round of its preservation program called “Loving Your Old House.” This educational program will take place on Tuesday evenings in March, starting March 3, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM each week at the HMI Office. Is your historic home begging for some TLC? Want to learn the secrets to preserving its unique character for generations to come? Then look no further than Historic Madison, Inc.'s "Loving Your Old House" program! Learn how to preserve and protect your old home from the experts who do the work in our community.

This exciting five-session educational program equips homeowners with the knowledge and skills to care for their historic buildings. Led by experts who work directly on historic preservation, the program delves into essential topics like:

● Taking a “Light Touch” with Your Historic Home: Address typical situations owners find themselves in when living in, maintaining, adapting, and preserving historic homes

● Hardwood Floors 101: Understand how to care for the floors around your home, from identification, basic maintenance, updates, and contractor repair

● History of Window Glass: Learn how to date window glass, how the process has changed over time, and why your windows are essential to the character of your old home

● Caring for Your Art Glass: Explore the questions, challenges, and problems regularly encountered with stained glass, leaded glass, and other glass issues in historic building openings

● Masonry Basics: Understand how to care for the brickwork around your home, including problem identification, basic maintenance, and contractor repair

"Loving Your Old House" offers flexibility for busy schedules. Each session is independent, so you can choose the topics that best suit your needs. Attend one session for $30 (non-members) or $25 (HMI members), or take advantage of a $5

discount by registering for multiple sessions. These programs will take pla

Tuesday evenings in March from 6:30 to 8:30 PM each week at the HMI office.

Limited Spots Available!

Space is limited to ensure personalized attention from the experts. Register now and secure your spot at https://bit.ly/LYOH32026. Registration is required for all sessions. Enrollment is limited to 15 attendees per session.

Don't miss this valuable opportunity to invest in your historic home's future. We look forward to welcoming homeowners of all experience levels, DIY enthusiasts, contractors, students, and anyone passionate about historic preservation!

Participants will have time with each of the session experts to learn how to care for the different parts of their home. This program is a great opportunity for anyone interested in preserving an old home for future generations, inside and out. This program is generously sponsored by the Virginia Kerst donor-advised fund.

Below is a brief description of each session speaker.

The first session, on March 3, will feature Tom Collins discussing the idea and practice of taking a “light touch” with your historic home. Tom is an Associate Professor of Architecture at Ball State University. He is the past Vice Chair of the Muncie Historic Preservation and Rehabilitation Commission, which oversees the city’s only National Register and locally designated historic district. Tom will highlight typical situations owners find themselves in when living in, maintaining, adapting, and preserving historic homes. Using his own 148-year-old Muncie home as a precedent, he’ll discuss how to “read” an old home to understand and respect its character, features, layout, and evolution over time. At a time when “gut renovations”—especially to interiors—are often recommended and promoted by contractors, realtors, and the media as the way to make old houses current and usable, he’ll present an alternate approach whereby historic homeowners can understand and appreciate what they have and make strategic, sensitive, and nuanced changes that protect its integrity.

The second session on March 10 will feature local expert and business owner, J.R. Phillips. J.R. was born and raised in Jefferson County, Indiana, where he started working in the family sawmill and lumber business. He is the third generation to run Phillips Lumber and Millwork since it began in 1963. The mill is the oldest still operating in Jefferson County. The plans are for the business to continue with the next generation 

in the years to come. J.R. will be focusing on how to care for the hardwood floors around your home, from identification, basic maintenance, updates, and contractor repair.

The third session on March 17 will feature Orbin “Sonny” Ash, retired Historic Sites Restoration Manager for the state of Indiana Historic Sites and a preservationist practicing his many crafts for more than 4 decades. Sonny will focus on the history of window glass, exploring how you can determine its age and the different types, while also elaborating on how the process of making window glass has changed over time. Throughout his many projects, Sonny has seen the need for the protection and restoration of windows and their glass to better share the history of the buildings being preserved for future generations. Join this session to learn the importance of all those panes of glass from a true preservation expert.

The fourth session on March 24 will feature Rhonda Deeg and will focus on the questions, challenges, and problems regularly encountered with stained glass, leaded glass, and other glass issues in historic building openings. Rhonda has devoted much of her career to teaching the construction trades, historic preservation, and stained glass in the vocational trades, both at the high school and college levels in Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Indiana. She currently teaches for Community Adult Learning at both Mid-Michigan and Alpena Community Colleges in Michigan. She has over 30 years’ experience in stained and art glass repair and restoration, and is the sole owner of RLD Glass Art. A large percentage of her business includes the restoration/repair and conservation of window and door panels for historic buildings, both in commercial and residential types, dating from the early 1800’s through the 20th century. Attendees are encouraged to bring photos of examples, small panels to show, etc. Time will be given to demonstrate some of the techniques used in repairing and maintaining glass.

The fifth and final session on March 31 will feature Sam Anderson from Anderson Restoration in Crestwood, Kentucky. Sam will speak about caring for the brickwork around your home, including problem identification, basic maintenance, and contractor repair. Sam has worked on the restoration and care of historic masonry and stone for more than 10 years. He completed the stone masonry course at the International Masonry Institute in 2004. He is also a US Heritage Group lime mortar certified contractor. He is currently working on the interior brick walls at the Sullivan House, but has completed projects big and small in the area. This session will take place at the HMI Office - Talbott-Hyatt House, but will include examining some of the brickwork at the Sullivan House next door.