Restoring a historic building is no mean feat. Not only do these projects require a detail-oriented approach and special care, but they’re often fraught with unexpected complications which can add up quickly.

Regardless of how passionate and experienced you are when it comes to building restorations, bringing a historic building back to its former glory is quite a challenge. However, if done right, a historic building restoration project can breathe new life into a beautiful structure. Here is an example of an old iconic building being restored to its former glories.

Over the course of this blog post, we’ll provide three tops on making your historic building restoration project a success.

Maintain the Character of the Building

If you’re restoring a historic building that’s an iconic landmark or has cultural significance, you’d want to retain as much of the original building’s character as possible. Changes and upgrades—regardless of how big they are—can have a big impact on the building over time. Therefore, make sure the alterations and addition you’re considering making to the building are sympathetic to the specific design intent of the original architect.

You aim should be to work around the historic elements as much as possible. If a replacement is unavoidable, it should closely match the material, design, color, and texture of the original.

Be Mindful of Historic Building Regulations and Building Codes

With a historic building restoration project, not only do you need to emphasize on maintaining the building’s character, but you also need to consider the safety of the building’s occupants. Therefore, it’s vital that you address building regulations and codes, as well as security and safety measures.

Code officials, facility managers and designers should coordinate with each other early on in the design and planning process so they have an adequate amount of time to identify potential challenges and issues that may arise during the course of the project.

Enlist the Services of an Expert

Last but not the least; it’s always a smart decision to enlist the services of a historic building restoration expert. Like we mentioned earlier, restoring an old building is no small undertaking, and having a team of experts guiding you through the restoration process can be quite useful. In addition to helping you estimate the amount of works that need to be done and the projected costs, a restoration contractor can help ensure that the right materials for the project are purchased.

One of Boston’s leading historical restoration contractors, AMN Masonry provides quality and affordable services to home and business owners in the area. Call (774) 244-8248 for more details, or email at adriano@amnmasonry.com.