Haldane Preservation Architects · est. 1996 · National Register Projects · [Your City]

Materials & Methods

A library
of how we work.

Preservation is craft before it is design. Each material has its own grammar, what it asks of us, and what it permits. Below is the small library of techniques we return to most often.

Our principle

We are not in the business of replication.
We are in the business of repair.

When a sash window can be saved, we save it. When a beam can be sistered, we sister it. Replacement is the last resort, not the first quote.

The techniques

A library
of how we work.

Preservation is craft before it is design. Each material has its own grammar, what it asks of us, and what it permits. A small library of the techniques we return to most often.

Heart pine

Saved when sound, sistered when split, milled to match when missing. Never replaced wholesale.

Lime mortar

Soft enough to give. Hand-mixed by trade to match the original color, hardness, and aggregate.

Leaded glass

Releaded when the cames have failed. Re-stabilized when the panel is whole. Always documented before disassembly.

Original hardware

Catalogued, removed for safekeeping, restored, returned. Replacement only when integrity is lost.

Three-coat plaster

Lath, scratch, brown, finish. Applied by hand to retain the slight irregularity that drywall can never quite match.

Milk paint

Mixed in batch from casein and pigment. Forgiving, breathable, and faithful to the period palette.

Slate & copper

A century-and-a-half roofing system, mended by trade. Worth every dollar more than asphalt for what it returns.

Sash windows

Restored, weather-stripped, and (where appropriate) discreetly storm-glazed. Almost always more energy-efficient than they're given credit for.

The work we take

A small number
of commissions.

Historic homes, mills, schoolhouses, churches, and civic buildings, the buildings that gave a town its first character and that, with care, can give it its next chapter too.

  • Residential restoration Whole-house repair of historic homes, with respect for the original fabric and a plan for continued use.
  • Additions to historic homes New space that reads as new, deferring to the old, never costuming itself as a period piece.
  • Adaptive reuse Mills, schoolhouses, and foundries brought back to working life as libraries, inns, and arts buildings.
  • Civic & institutional Churches, chapels, and civic landmarks, repaired by trade and documented for the record.
  • Pre-purchase due diligence A clear read on condition, register status, and what a building will truly ask of you before you commit.

Inquiries

Tell us about
the building.

We take a small number of new commissions each year. The more you can share at first, age, condition, register status, the better we can know whether we are right for the work.

Send an Inquiry →