Maintenance+Guide

=This pamphlet is intended to serve as a resource for building owners interested in maintaining their historic properties. It includes information on funding resources available for designated historic properties as well as a guide to common maintenance topics we have observed in the Bushwick. Many of the historic structures in the area have been altered over the years, and each alteration is reflective of the evolving community. However, it is important to make changes to buildings which are appropriate with respect to the historic fabric. This guide hopes to provide information and resources that will encourage the responsible maintenance of historic buildings in Bushwick.=

=__Maintenance Guide__=

· Secretary of the Interior's Standards ([])
o A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships. o The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided. o Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken. o Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will be retained and preserved. o Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved. o Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will match the old in design, color, texture, and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence. o Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate, will be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments that cause damage to historic materials will not be used. o Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures will be undertaken. o New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property **. ** The new work will be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment. o New additions and adjacent or related new construction will be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired. · vinyl siding issue · other conservation issues The Secretary of the Interior's Standards (Rehabilitation): ñ The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided. ñ Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will be retained and preserved. ñ Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved. ñ New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. ñ New additions and adjacent or related new construction will be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Potential Issues with vinyl & aluminum siding:
ñ Although siding may be a quick fix for long-term structural problems- it hides building issues, **but** doesn't make them go away. ñ Adding siding to a building can trap moisture under the surface, which furthers deterioration of buildings. Wood-framed buildings, which are plentiful in Bushwick, are especially vulnerable to this. ñ Although siding is initially cheaper than repair to masonry or brick, the subsequent damage can be very costly, and structurally dangerous. ñ Modern siding is not an ideal solution for deterioration on historic structures, and proper repair should be carried out whenever possible, with a knowledgeable contractor, and possibly architect.

Missing building elements:
ñ Missing elements, such as stoops, cornices, window frames/lintels, and other decorative characteristics, which help to define the historic architecture, detract from the aesthetic integrity of many of the buildings in Bushwick. Continuity of these elements enhances the interpretation of the area's history, and should remain in place whenever possible. ñ Often when elements are removed, they may leave holes or cracks in the physical fabric of the structure. This allows water to leak in, leading to further damage. ñ Repairs done to a building should be both historically sensitive and performed with regard for the building's longevity; proper care for your structure will protect it from severe damage years from now, as discussed above.