Historic Seattle’s Third Annual Building Renovation Fair

What: Historic Seattle Building Renovation Fair

When: Saturday, April 13, 10 am to 4 pm

Where: Washington Hall, 153 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA (south of Seattle University)

Tickets: $5 Historic Seattle members and general public; students free

www.historicseattle.org or (206) 622-6952

Meet the region’s experts in historic preservation, restoration, and renovation. The event offers an ideal opportunity to meet experts, ask questions and get inspired.

At the event you will have the opportunity to meet with architects, contractors and engineers, specialty trades people and suppliers who appreciate working on old houses—glass, wood, metal, tile, plaster, and ceramics, plumbing, electrical, hardware, painting, and wood windows. Learn about foundation and seismic repair and using salvaged materials.

There will be presentations on a variety of topics throughout the day. Presentations include:

• Remodeling Strategies for Mid Century Homes by Julie Campbell AIA, CTA Design Builders;
• Wood, Stone, and Brick Restoration Basics by Brian Rich, Richaven PLLC;
• Preparing your Historic Home for Earthquakes by Bruce Schoonmaker, A-FFIX LLC;
• Remodeling your Vintage Home for your Modern Lifestyle by Diane Foreman, Neil Kelly Company; and Getting Cozy: Energy - Efficiency in Historic Homes by the Neil Kelly staff.

The Building Renovation Fair is being held at Washington Hall, one of the city’s most valuable community resources and Historic Seattle’s current “work in progress.” Ongoing restoration efforts on the 1908 Danish Brotherhood Hall are geared to making it a popular location for live performance, dance, rehearsals, classes, and workshops. Visit www.washingtonhall.org for history and rental information.

More information is available at www.historicseattle.org or request the brochure for yourself and for colleagues and friends at (206) 622-6952.

Building Renovation Fair Presentations

11 am Remodeling Strategies for the Mid Century Home Julie Campbell AIA, CTA Design Builders

Seattle enjoys a wide array of older architectural housing types, from early 1900’s Arts & Crafts styles to the 1950’s and 60’s “Mid-Century Classics”. You can probably think of many cases where interim home-owners “updated” their homes in ways that were insensitive to the original style of the house, requiring later remodeling once again. Based on experience working on many homes of different vintages, including those designed by mid-century Modern architects of the Northwestl, Campbell discusses how you can enhance your home’s historic style, yet in ways that work for today’s more open and demanding lifestyle… and in ways that won’t look dated or out-of-context in years to come!

Architects Julie Campbell and Buzz Tenenbom, CTA Design Builders, have many years of experience remodeling older and historic homes in greater Seattle. Recently they have enjoyed working on mid-century architectural treasures designed by Al Bumgardner and Gene Zema. Their work has been published in Pacific Northwest Magazine, Seattle Homes & Lifestyle, Sarah Susanka’s Inside the Not-So-Big House, and Blueprint Remodel; and receives frequent awards from the local chapter of Master Builders Association.

12 pm Wood, Stone, and Brick Restoration Basics Brian Rich, Richaven PLLC:

Brian Rich gives you a quick and helpful overview of key building blocks. Learn about the nature of wood: its strengths, weaknesses, and other characteristics. Explore the pathology of wood— its modes of failure and techniques for non-destructive testing of wood structures. Review different types of stone building materials, including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic stone and learn about the different types of potential stone deterioration and cleaning methods and their appropriateness in light of the Secretary’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Rich shares a number of stone repair techniques, including consolidation, adhesives and pinning, and other methods of compensating for loss of material. There will also be discussion of the nature of brick and other clay masonry materials, including how they are made, their nature, and modes of failure with insight into repair and cleaning of clay masonry and mortar joints.

Brian Rich is a LEED Accredited Historic Preservation Architect. He serves on the Washington State Heritage Barn Advisory Committee, The Board of Trustees for the Northwest Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology International, and the Board of Trustees for the Olympic Manor Community. He is Past Chair of the King County Landmarks Commission and Past Chair of the King County Landmarks Commission’s Design Review Committee. He has also served on 4 Culture’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee and is a member of several preservation related organizations. His passionate interest in historic preservation and sustainable design strategies intersect in his work, starting with the restoration of the Oriental and Palace Theatres in Chicago and most notably in the renovation of the University of Washington Guggenheim Hall.

1 pm Preparing your Historic Home for Earthquakes Bruce Schoonmaker, A-FFIX LLC

It’s a given that historic older homes are vulnerable to earthquakes and we are guaranteed to experience earthquakes in Seattle sometime in the future. If your house wasn’t damaged in the 2001 earthquake, there’s no guarantee it will get through the next one intact without some help. This presentation covers the ABC’s of securing your home: anchoring the house to the foundation; bracing the pony walls; and connecting the flooring system. It also covers plans available for structural work, including: the Standard Earthquake Retrofit Plan of the City of Seattle; permitting retrofit work; and Earthquake Retrofit Training Classes for Homeowners. Question and answer session follows.

Bruce Schoonmaker organized A-FFIX LLC & EarthquakePrepared.com, a general contracting company specializing in home retrofit and earthquake preparation, in 1999, in response to the great need to secure homes and buildings in Seattle and the Puget Sound region. The company has retrofitted over 400 homes and buildings. Bruce serves as one of a cadre of teaching contractors who lead homeowners in classes on how to retrofit their own homes. He has led earthquake preparation seminars at Home Depot and Lowe’s, as well for the Emergency Management Departments of Seattle, King County and Pierce County.

2 pm Remodeling your Vintage Home for your Modern Lifestyle Diane Foreman, CKD, CBD

Interior Designer, Neil Kelly Company

Foreman highlights some of the popular period styles for homes in Seattle and on the West Coast, including Colonial revival, Arts & Crafts, and Mid-Century Modern. She looks at planning for a historic home remodeling projects, examining specific situations and features, including how to integrate an addition, maintaining historic style for kitchens and baths, dealing with details including molding and window restoration, and how to build in energy efficiency..

Diane Foreman, CKD, CBD, is an award-winning kitchen, bath and residential interior designer who has won top honors in several national and local design competitions. She is associated with Neil Kelly Company, the largest and oldest remodeling firm in the Northwest and a co-sponsor of this year’s Building Renovation Fair.

3 pm Getting Cozy: Energy Efficiency in Historic Homes Neil Kelly Staff

This presentation discusses the most common energy problems encountered in historic homes and reviews the various techniques used to solve those energy issues for improved comfort and savings. The team takes a look at the most cost effective means of weatherizing older homes, from air sealing to insulation techniques, but will also introduces some of the newer practices in energy efficiency including pros and cons of heat pumps and heat exchangers. Presenters also review available incentives, credits and financing options for hom