Digging Into The Historic House Handbook
The Historic House Handbook: A Sensible Guide for Old-House Living is the authoritative maintenance and repair resource for old-house owners with helpful guidelines and advice for historic neighborhood living. This panel discussion features author Steve Jordan along with Bradley Huber and Ellen Olah, who are undergoing their own old house renovation adventures. This program was co-hosted by the Landmark Society of Western NY.
The Historic House Handbook is an updated and edited version of Rehab Rochester: A Sensible Guide for Old-House Maintenance, Repair, and Rehabilitation, which was published in 1995 by The Landmark Society of Western New York and won an award from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation in 1996. This book adds new and old house styles that meet the 50-year rule of the National Park Service for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1995, we’ve seen significant changes in materials and material availability, shortages of high-quality materials, and innovative, durable alternatives.
Steve Jordan has been in the old-house repair and restoration business for 40 years and is the author of The Window Sash Bible and Storm Windows: A Comprehensive Guide to Wood, Wood Combination, Aluminum, and Interior Storm Windows. His goal is to prevent the thoughtless destruction of historic windows by bringing to light their enduring yet often overlooked qualities as compared to the short-term lives of modern replacement windows. In 2022, Steve received an Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from the League in recognition of his contributions to the field.
Bradley Huber is a middle school reading teacher with an active interest in historic preservation, urban design, and a deep affection for street trees. He and his dog, Crumb, live in a small Rochester bungalow that he restored himself — a project that caught the attention of This Old House Magazine, HGTV, and others. Eager to rescue another piece of history, Brad searched high and low until he discovered Silver Lake, a former Victorian-era Methodist camp, where he and his boyfriend, Daniel Kanter, restored and saved an 1878 Stick Style cottage.
Ellen Olah is a hands-on old-house owner restoring her late 19th-century Queen Anne home in Rochester’s East Avenue Preservation District. Over the years, she’s taken on everything from restoring original window sashes to scraping and painting cedar clapboards — often working right alongside contractors. If there's scaffolding up, chances are you'll find Ellen on it.
This webinar was presented as part of the League's Preservation Book Club. Thank you to our program sponsor, the Peggy N. & Roger G. Gerry Charitable Foundation.