 The 16th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop
IPTW 2012 - "Cornerstones: New Foundations in Preservation"
September 30 - October 3, 2012, Charleston, South Carolina
You are invited to join the Preservation Trades Network and the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) for their first parallel Annual Conferences, September 30 - October 3, 2012 in historic Charleston, South Carolina. The overlapping philosophies between the both organizations will be brought to the fore as we create a collaborative experience. The active collaboration between preservationists, architects, engineers and the building trades to preserve our future and past will be a driving force of preservation practice in this new century. As leaders in their respective fields PTN and APT are reuniting to define a new approach to interaction between preservation technologies and the preservation trades.
The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) is a cross-disciplinary, membership organization founded in 1968, and dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, craftspersons, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation. PTN was initially founded in 1995 as a Task Force of APT, and the common goals and purposes of both organizations will provide unparalled opportunities for learning and engagement within the preservation community.
The city of Charleston, South Carolina is widely acknowledged to be a locus of the modern preservation movement. Founded in 1920, the Preservation Society of Charleston is the oldest community based historic preservation organization in America. Charleston is also the home of the American College of the Building Arts, the only four-year liberal arts college in the US focused on the traditional building trades. |
 The Preservation Trades Network is working in partnership with a consortium of nationally recognized window preservation specialists - Duffy Hoffman, John Leeke, Jim Turner, David Gibney and Bob Yapp - who are in the process of developing national standards for the repair and weatherization of old and historic windows. The Window Preservation Standards Collaborative (WPSC) will provide definitive energy testing data as well as standards for sustainable window repair, restoration and weatherization.
The replacement window industry is actively destroying hundreds of thousands of original and perfectly functional old windows every month. Based on the 8 billion dollars spent every year on replacement windows, as many as 12 million classic, old growth, wood window sashes end up in landfills annually. Still, over the last 30 years there has been a small group of window restoration experts, teaching, repairing, restoring and weatherizing historic windows. From the National Trust for Historic Preservation to statewide preservation groups to State Historic Preservation Offices to local preservation groups, saving historic windows has risen to the top of the agenda. As a result, more and more architects, specifiers, consultants, contractors and property developers are interested in specifying the weatherization and repair of historic windows with little information on standards they can use to do so. It is the purpose of the Window Preservation Standards Collaborative to change this by providing definitive energy testing data as well as standards for sustainable window repair, restoration and weatherization.
National Window Preservation Summit
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, Kentucky
July 26-28, 2011
PTN, WPSC and the Kentucky Heritage Council sponsored a National Window Preservation Summit at The Pine Mountain Settlement School (PMSS) in Pine Mountain, Kentucky, July 26-28. The Pine Mountain Settlement School is a National Historic Landmark with several buildings and every variety of wood and steel windows. The purpose of the Summit was to get the writers of the standards together, face-to-face with the Advisers, to effectively revise the draft of the standards. Also, to help the Observers develop a deep understanding of the project and the standards, so they can carry the word about the standards back home. WPSC invited 25 to 35 key advisers from across the country to attend this summit. The Summit was also open to 25-35 Observers. While Observers were not involved in the day-to-day commenting on the demonstrated standards, they were able to witness the process and assist the promotion of the Standards back home. Click <here> to read more.
Please support the work of the WPSC by making a donation to help fund research and publication of the Window Preservation Standards.
Host a PTN Shop Stop
The Shop Stop program was developed to introduce Preservation Trades Network (PTN) members to the different trades people, skills and networking needed for the successful and knowledgeable preservation professional. The Shop Stop is a gathering of trades people and professionals dedicated to furthering their understanding of the structures that we are working on, and the skills it takes to do it.
PTN envisions the Shop Stop to be a series of informal hands on meetings that moves from shop to shop. Any PTN member can host an event, and all are welcome to attend. A short demonstration will generally be held at each meeting followed by questions and most importantly networking with colleagues from your region (typically about a 2 hour driving radius). A Shop Stop does not have to be held in your shop, it can be at an interesting job site, a museum site, basically anywhere that will work for you. Attendees do not have to be PTN members. Download the full guidelines and application to host a Shop Stop <here>
Recent PTN News and Events
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| The 15th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop
IPTW 2010 - "Hands on Heritage: Trades, Knowledge, Community"
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, August 4-6, 2011
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission was a lead partner
organization sponsoring the 15th annual International Preservation Trades
Workshop (IPTW 2011) which was held on the campus of Thaddeus
Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, PA, August 4-6, 2011. This was
only the second time this event has been held in Pennsylvania. Each year the IPTW, sponsored by the Preservation Trades Network (PTN), draws
together hundreds of the best preservation trades practitioners, and others interested
in the preservation and traditional trades, showcasing their work through trade skills
demonstrations, exhibits and lectures. Tradespeople from the US and abroad shared
the techniques, tools, materials and technologies of crafts and trades ranging from
masonry restoration, slate, wood shingle and metal roo ng, decorative painting,
preservation carpentry, timber framing, and blacksmithing, to plaster restoration,
stained glass repair and much more. <read more>
IPTW 2011 included a keynote address by Donovan Rypkema, of PlaceEconomics an internationally known preservation consultant, writer and lecturer who addressed the important contribution to a local economy provided by the preservation trades, and also the role of historic preservation in comprehensive sustainable development. A copy of his presentation is available for download <here>
Note: to view the slideshow in full screen mode hover over the image and click the full screen button in the lower right corner. |
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Dominic DeRubis - 2011 Askins Achievement Award Recipient
One of the highlights of IPTW 2011 was the annual presentation of the Askins Achivement Award to Dominic DeRubis, Lead Masonry Instructor with the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center in Frederick, Maryland. Mr. Derubis’ skill and craftsmanship as has been demonstrated by his work on
hundreds of National Historical Landmark and National Register historic structures throughout the USA. Mr DeRubis was recognized for his tremendous talent with stone, brick, and mortar, his patience, his knowledge of historic masonry techniques and materials, his humor, and perhaps most importantly the communications skill to pass his trade skill and knowledge to others. <read more>
The Askins Achievement Award is named in honor of James S. (Jim) Askins, founder of the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Program and recognizes contributions over and above the noteworthy. The award criteria includes contributions to the preservation trades for: the continuance of traditional building skills, advocacy of training in preservation trades, practicing a building trade at master level of skill and knowledge, and extraordinary effort given to advancing the awareness of traditional building trade skills and knowledge. |
 4th International Trades Education Symposium
ITES 2011 - "1,000 Years of Traditional Trades"
Lincoln, England, May 19-22, 2011
The 2011 International Trades Education Symposium was held in the Lincoln Cathedral Quarter on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th May 2011. The International Trades Education Symposium (ITES) is a biannual event developed to help build an international network of cooperative programs, linking building trades education providers, practitioners and resources. To date three previous International Trades Education Symposia have been held; ITES 2005 at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio, ITES 2007 in Tällberg, Sweden, and ITES 2009 in Leadville, Colorado. ITES 2011 was hosted by the Works Department of Lincoln Cathedral. At each ITES existing relationships have been strengthened and energized and new connections have been added to the network of educators and tradespeople working to promote the continuing vitality and relevance of the traditional trades.The Lawn is a short walk from the West Front of Lincoln Cathedral, one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe, which towers above Lincoln, a prominent landmark for miles around. The imposing West Front incorporates the surviving part of the first Romanesque Cathedral dating from 1072. Most of the Cathedral dates from the 13th century when, inspired by the leadership of St Hugh (Bishop from 1186- 1200), the Cathedral was re-built in the new gothic style.
On Saturday 21st May Lincoln hosted a major international traditional craft skills event held in partnership between Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. Lincoln Castle was the venue for traditional craft demonstrations held alongside a Tastes of Lincolnshire event in Castle Square. <read more>
PTN also held a special Tour for the Trades, starting in London on Sunday, May 15th and arriving in Lincoln on May 18th. The Tour for the Trades offered a behind the scenes look at English cultural heritage with emphasis on the traditional trades featuring visits to Hampton Court Palace, Stratford upon Avon, Hardwick Estate and more! <read more> |
 14th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop - IPTW 2010
Frankfort, Kentucky, October 21-23, 2010
From October 21-23, 2010, the 14th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop - IPTW 2010 was held in Frankfort, Kentucky in partnership with the Kentucky Heritage Council, The Frankfort/Franklin County Tourist & Convention Bureau and the Frankfort Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites.The 2010 Kentucky State Historic Preservation Conference, co-sponsored by the Kentucky Heritage Council and Preservation Kentucky Inc. took place in conjunction with the preservation trades workshop. IPTW 2010 provided unique opportunities for preservation tradespeople, architects, preservation organization staff members, historic property stewards, state and local government employees, homeowners and students to gain understanding of the preservation trades and create exchanges between professionals and the public through interactive demonstrations, educational sessions and one-on-one discussions.
Sessions and demonstrations included roofing techniques, plaster repair and maintenance, repair of historic porches and exterior elements, proper masonry materials and repair, painting and paint removal, new regulations in lead paint abatement, restoration of historic lighting fixtures, blacksmithing, wood and steel window restoration, stained glass repair, dry laid stone construction, project documentation, understanding business tools including the web and social media, decision-making, and the benefits of hiring a certified restoration tradesperson. The workshop featured more than 30 demonstrators and speakers from all parts of the country and beyond – including some of the most highly skilled craftspeople in their fields. <read more>
Pre-IPTW 2010 Log Structure Repair Workshop
Cove Spring Park, Frankfort, Kentucky, October 13-20, 2010
 In July of 2009 PTN held its first Preservation Rendezvous in Frankfort Kentucky. The event was focused around two workshops which took place at Cove Spring Park where the Timber Framers Guild partnered with PTN to teach traditional timber frame techniques in the construction of a picnic shelter while PTN Board member Jim Houston and Executive Director Rudy Christian taught students how to document and deconstruct a c.1825 log structure which was used for curing meat when the park was the site of a historic farming operation. The Kentucky Heritage Council and Frankfort Parks & Recreation partnered with the Preservation Trades Network to restore it
This year PTN returned to Cove Spring Park to continue the process of authentically restoring and reconstructing the log meat house. The workshop began on October 13th, one week before IPTW 2010 and ran through Wednesday October 20th, and was again led by Jim Houston and Rudy Christian plus two other log restoration specialists and focused on teaching hewing and log notching, laying out and cutting step lapped rafter seats plus repair techniques for damaged wall logs. A portable sawmill was on site to fabricate new rafter and roof sheathing boards.
Next year the project will be completed during phase three, with an additional workshop whick will feature quarrying the limestone chinking on site, daubing the logs with period appropriate daubing, fabricating and instalinhg wood shakes and restoring the missing siding and historic door and hardware. Read more about this year's workshop on Rudy Christian's blog, A Place for the Trades. View a slideshow of the workshop. <here> |
Pre-IPTW 2010 Gravestone Preservation Workshop
Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky, October 19-20, 2010
 PTN member Jonathan Appell led two consecutive workshops on Tuesday October 19th and Wednesday October 20th at the scenic and historic Frankfort Cemetery. Each day had an entirely different focus. Tuesday's workshop focused on all aspects of gravestone and cemetery monument repair and preservation and Wednesday's workshop related to historic masonry preservation not limited to applications in graveyards and cemeteries. The workshops were "hands on" interactive events.
The Frankfort Cemetery is located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors. It was created by Judge Mason Brown, son of statesman John Brown. Brown enlisted other Frankfort civic leaders and in 1844 the Kentucky General Assembly approved the cemetery's incorporation. The 32-acre property, then called Hunter's Garden, was purchased in 1845 for $3,801. Additional land was purchased in 1858 and in 1911 for a total of 100 acres Brown hired Scottish-born landscape architect Robert Carmichael to design the cemetery. The cemetery is designed in a style similar to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston Scottish-born landscape architect Robert Carmichael, with curving lanes, terraces and a circle of vaults. Carmichael imported flowers from around the state, intending the cemetery to double as an arboretum in a time when residents could not easily travel to see mountain flowers not native to the region. A central feature is the State Mound, featuring a military memorial designed by Robert E. Launitz.
The cemetery has views of the Kentucky River, which forms its western boundary. A bluff overlooking the river gives a view of downtown, south Frankfort, and the Capitol District. <read more> |
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Shelburne Farms Timber Frame Workshop
June 7-11, 2010 - Shelburne, Vermont
In the summer of 2010 the Preservation Trades Network partnered with the Timber Framers Guild to hold our second timber frame workshop the week of June 7-11 at beautiful Shelburne Farms, a membership-supported, nonprofit environmental education center and National Historic Landmark on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont. Thie workshop focused on historic restoration and repair techniques. The restoration and repair workshop was taught by Jan Lewandoski, a world renowned master timber framer. Additionally day one of the workshop (June 7th) featureed lectures and demonstrations by wood scientist Ron Anthony and structural engineer David C. Fischetti.
The program venue was the Victorian “Breeding Barn” at Shelburne Farm. It was built from 1889 to 1891 and at the time was said to be the largest open span timber structure in America. The architect was Robert Henderson Robertson. The structure has a footprint of 107’ x 418’ and includes some of the most elegant and truly ambitious trusses ever incorporated in an agricultural structure. Shelburne Farms was created as a model agricultural estate in 1886 by William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb. In 1972, it became an educational nonprofit featuring nearly 400 acres of woodlands which are Green Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and a grass-based dairy operation with 125 purebred, registered Brown Swiss cows. Milk produced on the farm is transformed into award-winning farmhouse cheddar. The mission of Shelburne Farms is to cultivate a conservation ethic by practicing rural land uses that are environmentally, economically and culturally sustainable. <learn more> |
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