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1. Know your upkeep cycles. Most structures need tuckpointing maintenance every 50 to 60 years.

2. Match the mortar. New mortar need to match as carefully as possible in color, consistency, and elevation. Using excessive Portland cement in the mix produces difficult mortars, which can damage old structures.

3. Never grind out joints. Only scrubby mortar should be removed. If someone tells you otherwise, run.

4. Never utilize sealants. Sealants trap moisture, compounding issues during freeze/thaw cycles.

5. Replace in kind. Damaged masonry systems must be changed whole or through Dutchmen of the exact same material. Voids filled with putty don't last.

-- Jacob Arndt, Preservation Specialist, Architectural Stone Carver

Radiators

6. Don't throttle a one-pipe steam radiator The steam and condensate have to share that restricted space. Keep the valve either completely open or totally closed to avoid water hammering and spraying air vents.

7. Create an ideal pitch. One-pipe steam radiators must pitch towards the supply valve. Use 2 checkers under radiator feet-- they're the perfect sizes and shape.

8. Gain control. Thermostatic radiator valves are a fantastic way to zone any radiator and save fuel. Hot-water and two-pipe steam radiators get them on the supply side; one-pipe steam radiators get them between the radiator and the air vent.

Old radiator.

( Image: Sylvia Gashi-Silver).

9. Get a fantastic surface. Pros concur that sandblasting followed by powder finishing gives the very best, long-lasting, non-sticky finish-- however do not try this in the house.

10. Do not stress over fires. Even with steam heat, a radiator gets only about half as hot as the temperature level required to kindle paper, so you can rest easy.

-- Dan Holohan, Author, The Lost Art of Steam Heating.

Woodworking.

11. Use heartwood. Heartwood is constantly the most disease-resistant. Sapwood of a lot of species should never ever be used.

12. Rift or quarter-grain cuts are best. These cuts are the most steady. Flat grain typically broadens and contracts seasonally at two times the rate of quartered stock.

13. Install plain sawn lumber with the heart side up. Flat lumber will wear much better with the heart dealing with up. If there's cupping, the edges will remain flat, and just the center will hump slightly.

14. Discover to use hand tools. A lot of historical woodwork was produced by hand tools, and the majority of machine-made millwork (late 19th century and after) was installed with them. Historical woodwork surfaces produced with hand aircrafts can't be recreated by contemporary machines like sanders.

15. Usage standard joinery. Part repair work ought to be made using traditional joinery instead of non-historic techniques like a wholesale epoxy casting of a missing part.

-- Robert Adam, Founder and Senior Advisor, Conservation Woodworking Department, North Bennet Street School.

Slate Roof, remodeling old homes.

Slate roof on a turret, refurbishing old houses.

Slate roofing system on a turret. (Image: Nathan Winter).

16. Determine your slate.To properly look after your slate roof, find out what kind of slate it is. Simply as you can't fix a Chevy with Ford parts, you ought to never use New York red slate on a Pennsylvania gray slate roofing.

17. Understand your roofing system's longevity. If your roofing system only has 100 years of durability and is 95 years of ages, it's not worth sinking cash into. But a roofing with 200 years of durability that's 75 years of ages is a young roofing that should be extremely valued and appropriately maintained.

18. Check your roof frequently. At least as soon as a year, walk your house (usage binoculars if essential) and take a look at your roof. If you see missing out on, broken, or moving slates, or flashing that looks suspect, call your slater.

19. Look around Montclair Home Restoration Companies for quality. Excellent slaters are out there, but you have to try to find them. It's worth the effort to have somebody who genuinely knows what he's doing.