Old House Lovers gather to exchange ideas and fix things

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, February 6, 2014

There is a growing movement to keep alive skills that have been in danger of being lost. That and a love of old houses is what the Old House Network in Kalamazoo is about.

The organization, founded in 2003, started as a way for those who love old houses to exchange ideas and fix things. Network members began hosting workshops in their homes.

"Kind of like a Tupperware party but a little messier," says Sharon Ferraro of the Old House Network. "We stripped paint, fixed windows, stripped wallpaper and put new mortar into old foundations. Our teachers were experts in their field and we had a blast."

Three years later the group decided to become a nonprofit, complete with 501c3 status. In 2006 they organized their first Old House Expo at the Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds. They invited vendors and expert instructors for an event that included hands-on demonstrations.

"No one else in Michigan is doing this," Ferraro says. The weather the day of the inaugural expo was snowy. Even so, more than 500 people turned out.

They have continued to offer the expos every year since then and twice in 2012 (three were in Grand Rapids). This year, the ninth annual Old House Expo will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 15. in the Crowley Center of St. Augustine’s Cathedral, 542 W Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo.

Old house owners, contractors, suppliers and advisors will be part of the day. Three tracks of programming will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. covering topics from solar to window repairs to wallpapering. Deciding if an old house is right for you is another topic to be covered.

In the vendors’ hall, the expo will feature continuous demonstrations of paint stripping techniques in the Great Strip-Off, including hand stripping, chemicals, natural solvents and various forms of heat. There will be a demonstration of basic window repairs. And information on the easiest way to strip old house hardware.

Jim Turner of Turner Restoration in Detroit is the featured speaker. As a devoted old house lover, Turner has served as an advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is active in the Michigan Historic Preservation Network as well. He will present the results of testing energy efficiency of traditional wood windows from the Window Preservation Standards Collaborative. He will also make a separate presentation on repairing steel windows.

Vendor’s spaces are available and interested contractors or suppliers are invited to apply. Many of the vendors are local business owners, including Douglas and Son Paints, Kazoo Books, Eco Friendly Contracting, North Woods Windows, to name a few.

The expo raises funds for the Old House Network so it can continue to teach workshops. Previous workshops have included window rehab, exterior and interior painting, plaster repair, insulation, tiling, planning your project, working with building inspectors, floor refinishing, paint stripping, gardening, a dozen ways to kill poison ivy and laying a brick parking pad, and more.

The organization also advocates for keeping and fixing old houses. Ferraro says that when a house is rehabbed the budget is 70 percent labor and 30 percent for materials. For new construction it is a 50/50 split. "More local people are employed, and their wages stay in the community, in rehabilitation than in new construction," Ferraro says. "And when homeowners do their own work--they tend to buy locally."

The Old House Network teaches traditional home repair techniques to preserve and maintain houses built before 1950. In 2012, the owner of an 1895 house gave the organization his home to use as a workshop house. Named Ted’s House after their benefactor, The Network plans to begin workshops there this summer. Classes will range from structural assessment and planning to insulation and window repair and more.

Source: Sharon Ferraro, Old House Network

The Ninth Annual Old House Expo will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 at Crowley Center, St. Augustine Cathedral, Kalamazoo. Admission is $7, $5 for seniors, and students.Children under 12 admitted free with purchase of a ticket for an adult.