It's not rocket science... What can I do to help maintain my older home?

Question: What can I do to help maintain my older home?

"Non-Engineer" Answer: Educate yourself

Explanation: Within the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area, there are hundreds of restoration companies that specialize in older home restoration. These companies will often do free on-site estimates and give you a quote the same day. However, hiring a specialist in any area will be pricey and may require the work to be done over a long time period. If you are looking to save some money and don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you can do the work yourself.

Depending on what you are working on, let’s say re-glazing a 50 year old window, you can contact one of the window restoration companies and ask if they are putting on any workshops in the near future. Many companies and home improvement stores offer free workshops on the weekend that teach proper maintenance of your home as well as restoration of specifies systems. By searching the internet or making a few calls, you can find a workshop that is right for you. There are also non-profit organizations that host workshop events. Becoming a member of one or several of these organizations is a cheap way of staying informed of local workshops and getting connected with the people that can help you the most with maintaining your older home. The more you know, the more confident you will be when tackling weekend projects.

Commentary: If your home is registered as a historic structure on either the National Registry of Historic Places or through your local municipality, you will be required to submit any modifications of your home to be review by the state’s Historic Architect before work can be started. Historically registered structures require a great deal of attention to detail in order to remain identifiable as a true Historic Building. It is strongly recommended that you check with your local Historic Representative before commencing any work.