Practical Preservation

Scott T. Hanson of Your Historic House joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his book, Restoring Your Historic House, the result of 4 years of hard work and dedication to present a practical and comprehensive guide for historic homeowners. We covered a multitude of topics including: How the present-day Conway Scenic Railroad and train...Read More

Steven Bohnet of Bohnet Electric Co. joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his 113 year old family business of electric contracting and a lighting showroom that also features light fixture restoration and lamp repair.  We covered a multitude of topics including: The pros and cons of the Corporate (commerical) versus Non-Profit restoration/preservation projects Why...Read More

David Trowbridge from the Clio app joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his Wikipedia-like local history depository.  The Clio app began as a classroom project and has grown to over 32,000 historical entries with 5,000 daily users!  Users can add local history sites, walking tours, source documents, and an augmented reality time capsule entry...Read More

Stephen McNair of Mc Nair Historic Preservation joined the Practical Preservation podcast to share with us his experiences and the services his firm provides.  Listen to learn:  Potential issues with historic tax credits Trends in adaptive reuse Economic incentives for commerical use preservation projects The biggest obstacles and challenges for planning historic projects Contact: Website...Read More

Happy Halloween!  A little deviation from our usual Practical Preservation podcast episode – Sean Wagner from Mason Dixon Paranormal Society was interviewed to discuss their paranormal investigations.  Sean has been involved in over 200 investigations (and is now trying to find Big Foot with the Central Pennsylvania Investigators).  If you are wondering what a typical...Read More

Charles Flickinger from Flickinger Glassworks joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his business and career as an artisan.  Our conversation varied from minimalist living to repairing curved glass of the Statute of Liberty flame.  Curved glass is a speciality, niche business and Charles has collected over 4,000 steel molds from different projects (I learned...Read More

Catherine Brooks from Eco-Strip, the exclusive US distributor of the Speedheater Paint Removal System, joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss her company which allowed her to bring together her passion for the environment and public health.   The Speedheater is different from other heat-based paint removal systems because it heats the paint using  InfraRed...Read More

Joe McCormick, realtor, joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss real estate and historic homes.   We discussed: Tips for historic home buyers and sellers How to choose a real estate agent for your historic home search or listing Why older properties are good values for real estate taxes Understanding any regulations that may impact...Read More

After our Practical Preservation event in June at Lancaster History I reached out to our contact to see if they would have someone share their resources for researching house histories on the Practical Preservation Podcast.  Kevin Shue joined the podcast and shared his more than 30 years of experience working with the collection at Lancaster...Read More

Matt Barley joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss the work of  Lancaster County Preservation Trust and his preservation philosophy. Some of the highlights of our discussion were: The Andrew Ellicott House and the Lancaster connection to Lewis and Clark The 10 hour house on South Prince Street in Lancaster Trends in preservation – video...Read More

Dr. Lori joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss her passion for helping people discover the treasures within their families. Jonathan and I meet her at a LNP (the Lancaster Newspaper) antique appraisal (you can watch that video here).  When I reached out to Dr. Lori about an interview on the podcast she was so...Read More

Andy deGruchy joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his Craftwork Training Center, the historic masonry contracting and supply business and his philosophy of the body, mind, and spirit working together to create art.  His 35 years of experience as a mason was highlighted as he explained his dive into the material science world and...Read More

William Woys Weaver joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his research into food history and how it lead him back to his grandparents garden and forgotten heirloom seeds.  This episode combines my love of food and history.  The intersection of the two tells our collective stories and reflects the values of the time period...Read More

Gina Douty joined the Practical Preservation podcast to share with us her over 30 years of historic preservation experience.  Having worked in both the public and private sectors she brings a variety of experiences and knowledge to the discussion (we had a great conversation after we finished the recording about her early experiences as a...Read More

Sharon Hanby-Robie joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss her interior design philosophy, her new brand of home furnishings “Home by SHR“, how color influences our emotions (it is the second strongest emotional trigger with scent being the first). Throughout her over forty year career in interior design Sharon has ‘reinvented’ herself many times (successfully)...Read More

Wes Swanson joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss historic brick making, lime based mortar, and his journey to preservation through his love of history. We discussed a variety of topics related to historic masonry including: The difference between modern and historic bricks, how they get their color, and what they are made of His...Read More

Michael Cuba from the Timber Framers Guild  joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss: Timber framing, of course, but also the differences between modern and repair/preservation techniques.  I had never thought about building timber frames in earthquake prone areas…they have the engineering figured out for that! Learning using hand tools to insure you understand how...Read More

Lauren Dillion of Master of Plaster joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss: Her introduction to plaster as an art form The different types of plaster (I really didn’t know there were so many) – lime (there are different types of lime!), gypsum, and clay Lauren answered all of my lime wash questions Plus you...Read More

Robert Young, PhD of the University of Utah’s College of Architecture + Planning joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss the intersection of sustainability and preservation. During our discussion we discussed how stewardship of existing buildings is the ultimate green building (plus it is large scale recycling). Some of the other topics we discussed are:...Read More

John Stahl of Next Generation Systems joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss his epoxy system, preservation contracting experience and services, plus his window evaluation program of surveying, documenting, and providing recommendations to building owners. A Practical Preservation first – John launched his new product ‘on the air’ – cold weather epoxy for wood: Contact...Read More