Olde Mohawk Historic Preservation

10/30/2026

Week six of the archive series, and this one ran January 11, 2013. The question in the title is one I still get asked every fall, usually by someone whose home inspector just told them the chimney needs repointing before a sale — or by someone staring at crumbling joints and wondering how bad it can get if they wait one more winter.

Link in comments...

10/23/2026

Week five of the archive series, and this one was written in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy — it ran November 27, 2012, about a month after the storm tore up the coast and left everybody looking up at their roofs. The question it was asking then is the one every New England homeowner still asks each fall: how does your roof hold up when the weather turns? (Link in comments)

10/16/2026

Week four of the archive series is up on Substack: “Finding and Screening the Right Contractor for Your Project” — originally published in 2012 in my “Preservation in Action” column for Traditional Building.

It’s advice to homeowners on how to pick the right contractor — which, coming from a contractor, makes it a self-audit too. The core message: it’s not about collecting five bids and tossing the high and low. It’s about fit — the crew, the tools, and the right experience for the actual work. Plus the due diligence: license, insurance, workers’ comp, and references you can go look at in person.

Link in the comments.

10/10/2026

Week three of the archive series is up on Substack: "Built-In Gutters: Inspection, Maintenance and Restoration" — one of the earlier "Preservation in Action" columns from Traditional Building, republished with the original photos.

If your old house has Yankee gutters (also called box or Philadelphia gutters), this one's worth your time: what to look for, why roofing tar is never the answer, and what a proper copper restoration actually involves.

Read it here:

Week 3 of the Preservation in Action archive: the troughs built into the cornice, and what happens when they fail

10/03/2026

Paul Revere

10/03/2026

Week two of my 18-week Substack series republishing my "Preservation in Action" articles from Traditional Building — one a week, with the original photos. This one is "Slate Roofing 101": the slate itself is rarely the problem. It's the flashings that fail, the soft slate that can't be saved, and the roofer who tells you the whole roof needs replacing when it doesn't.

This is the second installment in my republication of the "Preservation in Action" series I wrote for Traditional Building from 2012 to 2015 — eighteen articles, one a week, with the original photographs.

09/27/2026

Big news from the shop: I'm starting a new 18-week series on Substack, republishing my "Preservation in Action" articles from Traditional Building — one every Sunday, with the original photos.

Week one is all about getting your project approved: what the National Register really means, who actually has the power to say yes or no to your work (your local historic district commission), and how to walk into that process prepared. If you live in an old house, this one's for you.

Give it a read here:

From the archives: the first "Preservation in Action" column, originally published July 2012.

07/15/2026

Grateful for the opportunity to help preserve this iconic landmark!

Thanks to the preservation efforts of Olde Mohawk Historic Preservation and funding support through the City of Boston’s Community Preservation Act, the Edward Everett Hale House has undergone a thoughtful restoration that ensures its continued preservation for future generations.

Read More: https://ow.ly/q2Zo50Zn3fA

05/07/2026

Wrapping things up at the on Newbury Street in this week. Another successful project with the on an iconic building. Purple slate from the Penrhyn quarry in Wales supplied by and the company.

04/10/2026

Over a year in the making, that's a wrap at the Edward Everett Hale House in Roxbury, Massachusetts. This was a once-in-a-career opportunity. Hale was a prominent Unitarian minister and abolitionist in Boston, and chaplain of the U.S. Senate. It's been an honor to work on this iconic building.