Preservation Standards for Historic Buildings

In Preservation Standards for Historic Buildings , you'll learn ...

• Building Exterior: Materials
• Masonry/ Wood
• Architectural Metal
• Building Exterior: Features

Overview

Credit: 4 PDH

Length: 45 pages

The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for establishing professional standards and providing advice on the preservation and protection of all cultural resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, apply to all proposed development grant-in- aid projects assisted through the National Historic Preservation Fund, and are intended to be applied to a wide variety of resource types, including buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts. They address four treatments: Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction.

The treatment Standards, developed in 1992, were codified as 36 CFR Part 68 in the July 12, 1995 Federal Register (Vol. 60, No. 133). This course will be specifically based on the portion of those standards and guidelines, which concern “Preservation” of historic buildings. Preservation is defined as the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement and new construction.

New exterior additions are not within the scope of this treatment; however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a preservation project. Please note that The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties are only regulatory for projects receiving federal grant-in-aid funds; otherwise, the Standards and Guidelines are intended only as general guidance for work on any historic building.