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1. Know your maintenance cycles. Many buildings need tuckpointing maintenance every 50 to 60 years.

2. Match the mortar. New mortar must match as closely as possible in color, consistency, and elevation. Utilizing excessive Portland cement in the mix creates hard mortars, which can harm old buildings.

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

4. Never ever use sealers. Sealers trap wetness, compounding problems during freeze/thaw cycles.

5. Replace in kind. Damaged masonry systems must be changed entire or by means of Dutchmen of the same product. Voids filled with putty don't https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=Montclair Victorian Restoration last.

-- Jacob Arndt, Conservation Specialist, Architectural Stone Carver

Radiators

6. Don't throttle a one-pipe steam radiator The steam and condensate need to share that confined area. Keep the valve either totally open or totally near to avoid water hammering and spraying air vents.

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

8. Gain control. Thermostatic radiator valves are a terrific 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 in between the radiator and the air vent.

Old radiator.

( Picture: Sylvia Gashi-Silver).

9. Get a terrific finish. Pros concur that sandblasting followed by powder coating provides the best, lasting, non-sticky surface-- but do not try this in the house.

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

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

Woodworking.

11. Use heartwood. Heartwood is always the most disease-resistant. Sapwood of most types ought to never be used.

12. Rift or quarter-grain cuts are best. These cuts are the most stable. Flat grain frequently 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 only the center will hump slightly.

14. Learn to utilize hand tools. Most historical woodwork was produced by hand tools, and a lot of machine-made millwork (late 19th century and after) was installed with them. Historical woodwork finishes produced with hand airplanes can't be replicated by modern devices like victorian church interior Montclair sanders.

15. Usage standard joinery. Part repairs must be made using standard joinery rather of non-historic techniques like a wholesale epoxy casting of a missing part.

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

Slate Roof, remodeling old homes.

Slate roofing on a turret, remodeling old homes.

Slate roof on a turret. (Picture: Nathan Winter).

16. Identify your slate.To correctly care for your slate roofing, learn what kind of slate it is. Simply as you can't fix a Chevy with Ford parts, you need to never ever use New York red slate on a Pennsylvania gray slate roof.

17. Comprehend your roofing system's longevity. If your roofing only has 100 years of longevity and is 95 years old, it's unworthy sinking cash into. But a roofing with 200 years of durability that's 75 years of ages is a young roofing system that should be highly valued and properly kept.

18. Check your roof frequently. A minimum of when a year, walk around your home (use field glasses if required) and take a look at your roof. If you see missing, broken, or moving slates, or flashing that looks suspect, call your slater.

19. Look around for quality. Excellent slaters are out there, but you have to search for them. It's worth the effort to have somebody who truly knows what he's doing.