Click to Watch the Award Video

 From the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation presented its Trustees' Award for Organizational Excellence to the Preservation Trust of Vermont during its recent 2010 National Preservation Conference in Austin, Texas.

The Preservation Trust of Vermont was founded with the goal of helping Vermonters save their historic places and that is exactly what has happened. In just three decades, the group has helped communities across the state save more than 1,000 buildings - village stores, post offices, schools, barns - all returned to productive use. Just this year alone, the Preservation Trust's staff of five worked on 352 preservation projects in 155 communities. 

The Preservation Trust of Vermont provides what preservationists need: technical and financial help and a great deal of encouragement. Through partnerships with legislators, foundations, businesses and individual donors, the group is able to provide much-needed grants to support preservation projects with an emphasis on revitalizing Vermont's downtowns and village centers.

Partnerships with other advocacy groups make the Preservation Trust an effective lobbyist for legislation that supports historic preservation and land conservation, downtown revitalization, affordable housing and smart growth. And since 1997, a model partnership with the National Trust has enabled the Vermont statewide preservation organization to hire professional field staff to spread the preservation message, train community volunteers and deliver a wide range of other preservation services across the state.

"It's impossible to catalogue the impact the Preservation Trust of Vermont and its executive director, Paul Bruhn, have had on nearly every town in the Green Mountain State," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  "This group's passion, innovation, commitment and creativity have helped Vermonters keep their state a special place."  Read More...

News from Board Member Emily Wadhams

Emily Wadhams announced recently that after more than seven years, she will be leaving her post as the Vice Preseident of Public Policy at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and returning to pursue new ventures here in Vermont.

Stehpanie Meeks, the president of the National Trust, writes, "She has created and led the National Trust's Sustainability Program, finding new partners and new funding sources for this innovative and dynamic work.  She has been an effective leader on our policy issues before Capitol Hill and the Administration, ensuring that preservation has a strong voice.  And, she has been a wonderful colleague and friend to all of us."

Prior to going to the National Trust, Emily served for several years as the Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer.  She plans to continue working as a consultant in from Burlington in her area of interest and expertise -- sustainability and preservation.  Emily is currently the Vice President of the Preservation Trust of Vermont Board of Directors.

Click to see detailed Map of Where We Worked, 2010

Learn more at savethewindows.org

Historic windows are an important, character-defining feature that contribute to an historic building's significance.  The size of the pane, muntin profile, method of joinery, and wood species are clues that help to date windows. 

• It is the green solution.  Historic windows can usually be repaired so that they operate easily with light maintenance, lasting another 100 years.  Insulated glass loses effectiveness when seals fail resulting in cloudiness and condensation.  Most thermopane windows need full replacement rather than just replacing the panes; an exception is Woodstone windows.   Some of the better manufacturers typically guarantee seals for 20-25 years, but when they fail the guarantee is prorated. 
• Refitting and weather stripping with good quality spring bronze weather strip (avoid less expensive plastic that loses its spring in approximately 1 year and has a 5-year life) reduces air infiltration, increasing comfort and saving energy.
• The wood in historic sash is dense old-growth compared to plantation grown wood today.  Clad windows, in particular, use soft wood that swells with water infiltration, typically at the miters. Many manufacturers use finger-jointed pieces of wood that are glued together rather than full length sticks.
• Mortise and tenon joinery, typically dating from before the 1940s, uses wood pegs so that the deteriorated parts of a window can be easily replaced.
• Steam tables remove paint, putty, and their lead contaminates.  Historic windows should never be dip-stripped as this pushes not only stripping chemicals, but also lead, deeper into the grains
• Adding a good quality storm window with efficiency coatings (there are advantages to exterior, but some prefer interior for aesthetic reasons) brings the R-value of windows closer to insulated glass.   Adding a Vermont-made Gordon's EcoSmart insulating shade, can result in a 5.5 to 6 R-rating.  Because the shades are operational, there is the advantage of passive solar heating during the day.