Owning an older home is a balance between preserving the past and embracing the future. While filled with charm and steeped in character, old homes often require a unique approach to maintenance, preserving the original architectural elements and integrating contemporary conveniences.
From the roof and gutters to insulation, the links below include helpful tips, video tutorials, past presentations and articles on the most common home maintenance topics.
Roofing & Exteriors
The outer shell of a home is your first line of defense in maintaining your property.
Windows & Doors
Get to know your wood windows, doors, and shutters.
Energy Efficiency
Older buildings can be energy efficient. Learn how here.
Masonry
Learn how to maintain stone, brick, mortar, cement, plaster and stucco.
Storm Prep & Winterization
Learn more about preparing your property early for hurricane season or a freeze.
Maintain Right Video Series
PRC’s Maintain Right series is designed to help empower homeowners with the knowledge they need to spot potential problems in their houses and find ways to address them, including who to call when the problem requires a professional. Easily accessible through various mediums and offered free to the public, PRC’s Maintain Right series features instructional videos, online programs and printable guides available as a digital resource for local and statewide use.
Explore the topics below to see short videos and learn from experts on various home-improvement topics.
Meet Our Old House Pros
Here are a few of our experts who have participated in creating the Maintain Right series.
Mike Bertel
Mike is the owner of Inhab Millworks, a full-service commercial millworks production shop with an expertise in authentic New Orleans architectural woodwork. Inhab provides design, fabrication, restoration and installation services to contractors, developers, architects and property owners along the Gulf Coast. In 2004, Bertel founded Inhab Group, which includes Inhab Design + Build and Inhab Millworks. He grew up on job sites under the tutelage of his father and grandfather, both New Orleans natives. After studying business at Colorado State University, he returned to New Orleans and founded the company. He loves watching the Inhab vision come to fruition and leading a team of highly talented individuals. He’s visited more than 60 countries and has brought back inspiration through his video and photography projects. Inhab Group is located at 1222 Annunciation St.
Michelle Stanard Duhon
Michelle has 14 years of experience in architecture, construction, masonry conservation and hands-on restoration. Duhon recently combined her two preservation businesses, Bayou Preservation LLC and Southkick Design Build, under the one name of Southkick Historic Preservation, located at 4516 Magazine St. She has a Master of Science in Historic Preservation degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and art history from the University of Georgia. Duhon lives Uptown with her husband, two young children and a fat bulldog. One of her favorite things about New Orleans is the sound of the streetcar.
Chris Kornman
Chris, one of the principals and the head of day-to-day operations of Entablature Design·Build, is a third-generation builder who has been around construction his whole life. After earning a Ph.D. in psychology, Kornman spent the next 10 years working for a regional builder. Utilizing the vast experience and knowledge gained from both his psychology and construction training, Kornman and his business partner, Scott Logan, formed Entablature in 2011. Since then, Entablature has won multiple national awards for outstanding construction and developed a reputation as one of the best builders in New Orleans.
Michelle Shoriak
Michelle, PRC’s Director of Conservation and Education, is a local expert on the proper maintenance and rehabilitation of historic wood windows and other historic building materials. Shoriak received her Master of Preservation Studies degree from Tulane University and completed internships focused on window preservation with companies and organizations, such as Stratford Hall in Virginia and Cypress Building Conservation in New Orleans. Shoriak also served as operations manager for locally owned Staub Window Restorations.
Margot Ferster Payne
Margot is an architectural historian, restoration specialist and writer based in Memphis, Tenn. She works as a preservation consultant researching and documenting historic buildings and districts for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, federal historic rehabilitation tax credit program applications, and the creation of architectural design guidelines for historic neighborhoods. She also provides historic materials, finishes and design consulting for restoration and adaptive-reuse projects, and specializes in historic wood window restoration. Payne was appointed to the State Review Board of the Tennessee Historical Commission in 2018 and the Memphis Landmarks Commission in 2020. She has a Master in Preservation Studies degree from Tulane University.
Kirk D. Burrell
Kirk D. Burrell is the emergency manager and senior response coordinator for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. He holds the Louisiana Emergency Manager Basic (LEM-B) credential from the Louisiana Emergency Management Association. Special thanks to the Office of Emergency Management and the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans who provided vital information for freeze preparations to the Maintain Right Series.
About the Maintain Right Series
The activity that is the subject of this series is financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Office of Cultural Development, Division of Historic Preservation. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or polices of the Department of Interior nor the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior.
The Maintain Right series was made possible thanks to generous grants from the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Office of Cultural Development, Division of Historic Preservation and from the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Virtual Class Recordings
In addition to our in-person programming, the PRC also hosts virtual classes that cover a range of topics, such as windows, insulation and masonry. See the recordings of past programs below or subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified when new recordings are posted. Want to attend our upcoming virtual or in-person classes? Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on all our upcoming programming.
