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Overview

The first phase of restoration planning is limited in scope to developing feasibility criteria that will be used to identify and evaluate early restoration techniques and owner involvement. Researching the history of the proposed project or structure is critical as part of the first phase of any restoration project, large or small. Restoration is not confined to individual elements such as woodworking or windows. Restoration research develops a complete ‘view’ of the project as it pertains to the greater area or building involved. Then, separate sections are determined and in what order of importance each section is in light of the entire proposed restoration plan. Through this process, a number of important factors are addressed. Not only are sections identified, but also the level of preservation that is needed, the time frame involved and of course the cost for financial consideration.

Identifying and Evaluating

A floor plan, the arrangement of space, features and applied finishes may be, as mentioned above, individually or collectively important in defining the historic character of the project or building and the purpose for which it was constructed. Ask yourself, what was the original intent for this ‘room’, or, what was the original meaning of this window or wood carving. Therefore, identification, retention, protection, and repair should be given prime consideration in every preservation project. We never want to develop plans that would radically change character defining spaces or that would obscure, damage or destroy interior features or finishes. While the exterior of a building may be its most prominent visible aspect, or its "public face," its interior is often more important in conveying the building's history and it’s ‘story’ over time. Therefore, we must identify and evaluate the importance of interior elements prior to restoration work commencement.

Recommending Approaches

When analyzing the various ways one can develop a general plan for restoration, we must realize that often several options are available. The key to restoration is to determine early in the process, exactly what must be preserved or conserved, what is to be historically reproduced, and what areas must inevitably be changed or modified. So, the approach to restoration then includes, as a rule, a combination of all three factors, preservation/conservation, reproduction and modifying.

What does the term "preservation" mean (when referring to historical elements and buildings) for groups such as libraries, archives, historical societies, art guilds, individuals and other institutions that are responsible for historic collections? The term ‘preservation’ in the widest sense encompasses

• activities that prevent damage to historically significant elements such as proper protection, environmental controls and disaster planning; and
• activities such as a treatment, replacement, reproduction of elements that address existing damage.

Building Size Project

Heritage Restoration and Design Studio has perfected a modifiable procedure for the restoration of a historic building interior, whether in full or in part. This would include whole buildings, or just rooms, public areas, restaurants, courthouse chambers, libraries etc. The following is in brief the details of our procedure that can fully involve our clients to any degree they may feel is required.

• Analyze site and conditions
• Retain and preserve floor plans
• Create print and photo records
• Apply preliminary costing
• Obtain owner approval
• Establish a priority restoration list
• Design all drawings and submittals
• Produce an element preservation/reproduction schedule
• Start all onsite preliminary work
• Start all shop work
• Assign historic skilled craftsman to the project
• Apply detail finishes
• Complete re-installation
• Ready for owner occupancy

Element Size Project

Heritage Restoration and Design Studio has perfected a modifiable plan for the restoration of an element, whether in full or in part. This would include art objects, antique windows, oil canvasses, antique furniture such as use in homes, churches, education and legal facilities. In the same manner as our building restorations, the following procedure can involve our clients as fully as they feel is required.

• Analysis of the current condition of the object(s)
• Provide any historical records and information
• Create print and photo records
• Apply preliminary costing
• Obtain owner approval
• Establish a priority restoration list
• Create any written or decriptive documents
• Produce an element preservation/reproduction schedule
• Start all onsite preliminary removal
• Start all shop work
• Assign historic skilled craftsman to the project
• Apply detail finishes
• Complete re-installation
• Ready for owner approval

With either of these two approaches, designed for large and small projects, preservation of historically significant elements will be accomplished in the proper manner with skilled craftsmen. We believe very strongly in our Mission Statement:

“Design, Restore and Preserve for the Future”

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Experience Counts

Heritage Restoration and Design Studio has been in the restoration and preservation business for six generations. Each successive generation has added to the knowledge base, totalling over 275 years of practice and experience. Our clients are from coast to coast in the USA as well as in Europe.

We offer professional museum quality conservation and restoration services for an impressive list of fine art elements. We also provide full replication services for a wide variety of mediums especially polymers, woods, hard resins, glass and stones.

Past Restoration Experience

• Oil Paintings
• Statuary and Reliefs, Polychrome
• Stained Glass
• Antique Fencing
• Antique Wood Furniture
• Antique Architectural Mill-working
• Lithographs
• Interior/Exterior Frescos

Disaster Response

• Water Damage Due to Flooding, Tornadoes, Hurricanes
• Mold Growth on Images and Documents
• Smoke Damage from Fire and Heat
• Insurance Claims and Appraisals

Mediums We Restore or Replicate

• Paintings and Prints
• Oils
• Acrylics
• Watercolors
• Lithographs
• Original Prints
• Statuary
• Marble
• Stone
• Wood
• Resin
• Porcelain
• Plaster
• Antique Wood Furniture and Frames
• Antique Stained Glass
• Historic Mosaics
• Faux Finishes – Wood Graining, Marbleizing, Graniteizing

Replication

Historic replication is a skill set we employ on a daily basis. Replication can mean duplicating an original object such as a statue or window. It can also be interpreted as replication of a single element such as a missing frame component or plaster casting.

• Stained Glass Windows and Panels
• Interior and Exterior Antique Mill-working
• Oil Paintings on Canvas by the Masters
• Antique Wood Frames
• Mosaics
• Faux Finishes
• Plaster or Resin Castings
• Door and Window Hardware, Pulls and Knobs

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What is ‘metal’? The general definition is typically a solid material that is hard, shiny, malleable, fusible, and ductile with good electrical and thermal conductivity (e.g., iron, gold, silver, copper and aluminum and alloys such as brass, bronze and steel.)

Restoration and preservation of metal objects is often a challenging endeavor. Most metals and alloys, to varying degrees, are very prone to atmospheric, chemical and aging changes. Typically, these changes are visible on the ‘Oberfläche’ or surface stratum. Anything from mother’s silver set, coins, door/window hardware, architectural elements, metal vessels and cabinetry to church metalware all exhibit deterioration and patination. Most metals, when in contact with an oxygen atmosphere, will show surface changes to the solid or plated metal stratum.

With the exception of iron, which usually has a paint applied surface, natural effects on metals are achieved with chemical patination, plating, coating and mechanical texturing to produce a wide variety of colors, patterns and finishes. However, over time exposure to the elements will change the surface conditions resulting in the need to make restoration repairs and bring the metal stratum back to its original quality and appearance. Heritage Restoration and Design Studio has restored and/or preserved many metal surfaces on a variety of items. Our staff also has extensive experience with architectural metals – a building's ornamentation, consisting of ornate grilles, panels, doors, cornices and sculptures, each aging at different speeds and to varying degrees. A careful examination by our experts will determine the nature and depth of any metal oxidation. From there, Heritage Restoration can provide both a solution and the needed corrective measures.

Processes

• Gold, silver, brass cleaning, polishing and plating
• Copper restoration
• Bronze restoration
• Nickel cleaning, polishing and plating
• Lead containment and restoration
• Protective clear coatings
• 95% Cold Zinc Galvanization (by weight)

Restoration Projects

Door/window hardware, hinges, push/pull and kick plates
Bronze reliefs, statues and plaques
Plated and sterling silverwares
Candlesticks and brass/bronze components
Liturgical wares: chalice, plates, ciborium, tabernacle, patens, pyx etc.

Additionally, we offer all our clients a free self care program for the maintenance of metalwares restored by Heritage Restoration and Design Studio.

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Overview

The intrinsic value of original woodwork, whether due to it's age or non replaceable attributes, is in most cases more than any modern replacement piece could or should be. Wood is a beautiful medium and is very conducive to manipulation by man and machine. Wood is an environmentally sustainable product that is cost effective. Original wood and mill working is highly repairable, refinishable and restorable compared to most other mediums such as stone, marble, or glass. It is truly an insult against mother nature and our society as a whole, when, with some knowledge and experience, fine old wood pieces are destroyed instead of preserved.

Restoring Woodwork

Heritage Restoration and Design, established in 1820, has earned a respected reputation for the quality restoration of antique woodworking including home furniture, courthouse/church benches and pews, historic mill-working, wood light fixtures, picture frames, capitals and columns as well as many other items. Our trained and skilled staff utilize numerous techniques, many developed in and unique to our studio, to regularly produce results beyond the expectations of the most demanding clients such as collectors, dealers, auction houses, art foundations, historic building owners and discerning individuals.

Some of Heritage’s restoration techniques include:

• Dutchman Repairs
• Custom Millwork 3-D Carving
• Profile Pattern Matching
• Wood Species and Grain Matching
• Re-amalgamation
• Historical Finish Blending
• Antiquing and Aging Processes
• Stabilizing and Filling Decaying Woodwork
• Broken Wood Re-construction

Our staff’s ability to blend old world techniques with modern day processes is truly unique.

Delivery, Onsite, Pickup, or Storage

The individual and specific needs of our clients are always foremost in our minds. Our 54,000 square foot building offers our clients the ability to drop off, store, and pickup their wood items at a single location. Heritage’s staff will help to safely unload and store these pieces until the project is ready for the restoration and repairs. We offer a climate controlled storage for millwork, which is critical for maintaining the structure and value of old wood. Our services include delivery and pickup. Our staff will go to your location, load and pack all items for safe travel to our shop. Large projects require special vehicles, packing, loading and unloading, and storage elements. Many projects result in the removal of mill-work, tagging and bundling, then shipping to our location for storage and restoration. We prefer to do all work at our facility under strict environment and safety conditions. When items are returned to the client, they are installed with no further work required.

We carry specialized insurance while items are in our possession or while traveling to and from the clients site, throughout the United States.

Project Tracking

Over the years, we have been involved in many sensitive restoration projects, in which the restored material must be returned to the client and installed to their exact original location. It may appear to be a bewildering task to most clients and is both very labor intensive and easily prone to errors in record keeping. Heritage has developed methods, software and tracking systems to help ensure that restored material is installed in exactly the same location it was removed from. Ranging from real time reporting to monthly inventory/progress reporting, Heritage can provide information when you need it to make critical job-site decisions.

If you have already started your own cataloging process, coordinate your plan with HRD’s years of project experience to ensure a smooth functioning restoration from start to finish. Put our experience to work for you.

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Heritage Restoration is a premier preservation and historic replication company with six generations of experience. Our clients are nationwide across the contiguous United States. Restoration and preservation have been the core disciplines of our company since our founding in 1820 in Southern Germany.

Our clients are architectural firms, designers, and the owners of structures in the historic preservation sector on a local, state, or national level. Ranging from the restoration of interior and exterior woodwork and millwork to repairing historic stained glass, statues, and fine artworks, we understand our clients' needs and their discerning scrutiny. For many generations, historical accuracy has been the goal of Heritage Restoration and Design. We provide the highest level of craftsmanship, performance and beauty into every project we complete. It is from this vision that Heritage has derived it's company motto: Design, Restore and Preserve for the Future. We carry this historical viewpoint into all matters of our business, including new fabrications.

Replication of historic elements is a very specialized field of work. Each job has its own unique set of variables and challenges. It takes a diverse, cross-trained team to deliver accurate designs, offer versatile capabilities and achieve true historic accuracy.

Areas of historic competency:

• Millwork
• Furniture
• Religious Designs
• Stained Glass
• Oil Canvases
• Statuary and Bias Reliefs
• Architectural Metalware
• Preservation and Conservation
• Restoration, Renovation and Planning

Historic accuracy has been the goal of Heritage Restoration and Design for many generations, from restoring interior and exterior woodwork and millwork, to historic stained glass and restoration of fine arts. We provide the highest level of craftsmanship, performance and beauty into every project we complete.