Past participants have been contractors, tradespeople and homeowners from Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina, New York, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas and Nebraska. 

Like the eyes of your best friend, windows give you a view into the soul of a building. Their design has evolved over centuries to enhance the beauty of the building, keep out the storm, let in the breeze, give you a view of the trees, the moon, and the universe beyond. They have held up to decades of use and abuse. With a round of maintenance and a few repairs they will easily last another century. This is why it is worth caring for older and historic windows.

Yet thousands of windows are ripped out of your state's older and historic buildings and hauled to the dump each year. This astonishing loss is due in large part to the fact that few people know how to maintain and repair their existing wood windows. The window replacement industry is figuring they will get their hands on your windows sooner rather than later. In some cases owners succumb to the sales pitch for complete replacement and their entire house-full of windows are lost when all the windows really need is a round of simple maintenance. Learn the most efficient and effective means for saving older and historic windows from the dumpster.

Are you ready to save some windows? This is a hands-on workshop. I’ll guide and train you in the most practical and economic methods of maintenance and repair of older and historic wood windows. Learn how windows were originally constructed, why some last for centuries and others rot and fall apart after just a few years. Learn specific treatments for the ten most common window problems: broken glass and sash cords, rotten sash joints, weathered sills, bowed meeting rails, frame joint decay, and more. Learn traditional woodwork methods and the latest in modern high-tech materials and techniques, including wood-epoxy repairs and steam stripping of sashes.  Lead-safe methods and operations will be demonstrated and used throughout the workshop. The $500 fee includes materials, the latest edition of the Practical Restoration Report titled Save Your Wood Windows, refreshments and light lunch daily.)

Topics covered include: 

• Conditions: survey, assessment and investigation 
• Treatments: specific methods, materials and techniques; including wood-epoxy repairs 
• Planning: project planning, organization and logistics
• Costing: developing your own standards
• Maintenance: detailed treatments and schedules for ongoing care

If the topic you need most is not described here write or email Leeke directly and describe what you need to know. Your responses will be tallied and the most popular topics will definitely be covered. (postal: 26 Higgins St., Portland, ME 04103) 

Participants will received an advance study packet with a list of tools and materials to bring, and your own copy of Save Your Wood Windows, the 59 page report. Each participant will build a "sash easel workbench" which they can keep and use for their own window work. Leeke will reveal inside information such as cost and labor breakdowns as well as the specific materials, methods and techniques used by preservation insiders to save windows all around America.

Eligibility: Open to all handy homeowners, tradespeople, architects and other historic building professionals. All applicants must be in good health, able to do light to moderate physical work, and have health insurance.

Instructor:  Leeke, a nationally recognized preservation specialist, is well know for his sensitive and practical approach. He has been saving historic buildings for over three decades and has repaired, restored, and preserved hundreds of windows. He has taught window preservation methods for the Preservation Education Institute, Restoration & Renovation Conference, National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, Windows Conference and Exposition for Historic Buildings, and many state and local historic preservation organizations. Leeke's past window projects include:

• Preserving wood windows at the Sabbath Day Shaker Community at Sabbath Day Lake, Maine
• Writing the specifications for preservation of the windows at the Maine Collage of Art's Porteous Building in Portland and training work crews in special window preservation techniques
• Contributing to the window specifications for the Philadelphia City Hall restoration project
• Solving window preservation problems at the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building in Washington, DC
• Training carpenters in special window preservation methods at Carnegie Hall in New York City

Questions from participants:

• What are the specific dates?
• Usually I finalize the specific dates 3 months ahead based on what will work best for the first 3 or 4 interested people. So, let me know by email what weeks or dates are your first and second choice. I'll run that into the mix and set the dates 3 months ahead, then let you know. Let me know if you need more advance planning time and I'll set the dates sooner, just for you. Usually the workshops are Fri.Sat.Sun.
  
• Am I correct to assume that the workshop is a one-on-one teaching?
• Typically there are 6-8 participants, so my time is somewhat divided. Some activities are me presenting topics to the whole group, such as demonstrating the glazing putty method and techniques; or you may work with a participant partner, say, assessing the condition of a window; or working yourself, perhaps repairing a weak sash joint, with my guidance from time to time. Over three days you can count on 2-3 hours of my direct undivided attention with you, one-on-one, and you'll get my close attention another 4-6 hours. I usually have an assistant, which frees up a little more of my time to spend with students individually. If you want true one-on-one full-time instruction, I call that "training" and it is available at my standard rate of $700/day. The topics covered are tailored to meet you specific needs and interests.

Sign up: Download the Application Forum at http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/education/seminars.htm, or copy the form below, print it out and fax or mail it. Don't delay, only room for 8.