--- title: HISTORIC RENOVATION BLOG- LANDMARK SERVICES description: Landmark Services, traditional builders specializing in historic renovations, restorations, and additions to historic Massachusetts, homes, barns, and churches --- [![landmark-services-logo-white](https://www.landmarkservices.com/hubfs/LandmarkServices_Jan_2019/images/landmark-services-logo-white.svg "landmark-services-logo-white")](https://www.landmarkservices.com/) [New construction](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/topic/new-construction) # Fixed-Price or Cost-Plus Fee: Which is Better? [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/blog1/fixed-price-and-cost-plus-fee-which-is-better) Filter By All Historic Preservation Materials And Techniques Renovations Exteriors New Construction Kitchens Barns Insulation Old House Repair Window Restoration Contracts Cost Plus Featured Fixed Price High Performance Construction Paint Colors Barns Ma Energy Saving Techniques Money Saving Ideas New Barn Ma Post And Beam Barn Timber Frame Barn Ma ## A Newly Certified Passive House Builder I recently took a 2 day course given by the Passive House Institute US ([PHIUS](https://www.phius.org/home-page)). The course covered the theory and practice behind the passive house certification. Following the course, I successfully took the exam and I am now a Certified Passive House... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/mark-becomes-a-certified-passive-house-builder) ## A Tale of Two Cambridge Renovations Two of our renovation projects, both in Cambridge, were recently featured in local magazines. The first, a renovation of a late 19th century home, was [featured](https://newenglandliving.tv/renovated-historic-charmer-in-cambridge/) in New England Living Magazine.  [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/project-focus-a-victorian-renovation) ## Passive House Building: Structural Details Our previous post introduced a Passive House project that we designed and carried out in Maine. This post will describe the building materials and methods used. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/passive-house-construction-details) ## Construction Standards for Passive Houses My wife and I, both avid skiers, took the plunge a few years ago and bought some land in Bethel, Maine just a few miles from the slopes at Sunday River. In the course of designing the home that we wanted to build, a few things were important to us.... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/a-passive-house-project) ## Fixed-Price or Cost-Plus Fee: Which is Better? My dear friend David reached out recently on the eve of starting a construction project on his home. He said that he’d received two quotes from reputable builders and that one of them wanted to work Fixed-Price and the other offered a Cost-Plus Fee... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/blog1/fixed-price-and-cost-plus-fee-which-is-better) ## Energy Efficiency for Historic Homes A historic home has numerous perks for its owners; original hardwood floors, high ceilings, intricate detail, and the fact that you have, and are living in, your very own piece of history. However, with the good also comes the bad; poorly insulated... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/89237/make-your-historic-home-energy-efficient) ## Renovation of a Historic Carriage House As renovation contractors, we love it when we have the opportunity to take a neglected old building and - with the help of dedicated clients and a good designer- give it a new life. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/78374/renovation-of-an-historic-carriage-house) ## New Barn Construction I posted a few months back about a new barn that we've been building in Weston, MA. Well, apart from the landscaping and a final coat of paint on the exterior, this project was wrapped up this week.  [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/84772/project-focus-our-new-barn-project) ## Prefab Timberframe Barn We're known primarily as Old House Renovation guys. Maybe that's why we have so much fun when we get an opportunity to do some new construction from the ground up. A year or so ago we teamed up with the timber frame company [Bensonwood](http://bensonwood.com/) to build a new... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/78262/project-focus-a-new-timber-frame-barn) ## Historic Houses: Beauty Through Imperfection Several times a year I am asked to look at old houses for potential buyers.  I'll walk through the house and give them my opinion on the condition of the house, the feasibility of renovations and additions, ballpark costs, etc.  [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/77731/historic-houses-beauty-through-imperfection) ## Renovating Your Home? Watch Out for the Hidden Costs! From time to time I see projects tabled or postponed due to budgetary reasons. It's unfortunate at any point in the process but it's particularly heartbreaking when the clients have spent many months and many thousands of dollars on design fees, only to... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/63057/renovating-your-home-watch-out-for-the-hidden-costs) ## Lead Paint Compliance for Historic Restoration Contractors Most people have probably heard by now about the new rules put into place by the EPA concerning lead paint and renovations. The goal of the rules is to increase awareness of the danger of lead paint and decrease the risk of harm to occupants of old... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/53879/dealing-with-lead-paint-on-historic-houses) ## Is Energy Retrofitting at Odds with Historic Preservation? Yesterday Landmark Services co-sponsored a symposium called ["The Greenest Building is Already Built"](http://www.the-bac.edu/x3251.xml). It was meant to explore the relationship- good or bad- between sustainability and historic preservation. Five panelists provided wonderful... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/53520/energy-retrofitting-and-historic-preservation-at-odds) ## Case study: Planning a Kitchen Renovation We have worked with the owners of a ca. 1895 Shingle Style house just south of Boston for over five years.  We started by [renovating the exterior](https://www.landmarkservices.com/portfolio/exterior/), stripping the house of its shingles and installing new ones, rebuilding the porches, and restoring the... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/52923/case-study-planning-a-kitchen-renovation) ## How to Protect Historic Houses There are many methods to protect historic properties. Here's a quick primer. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/46435/protecting-historic-houses) ## How Cost-Plus Pricing Increases Transparency I wanted to take an opportunity to explain our approach to managing renovation and addition projects. Residential construction is a challenging business but we've learned a lot in the twenty years since we started the company. That experience has led us... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/45084/managing-renovation-projects-effectively) ## Designing a Period Kitchen Kitchen design is a very personal thing, especially when it comes to old houses. Some people want the kitchen to match the period look of their house while others don't mind having a more modern looking space. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/38773/one-approach-to-old-house-kitchen-renovations) ## Restoring Original Siding & Trim on Greek Revival Homes Last time we did a [survey of the Greek Revival houses](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/32253/The-Greek-Revival-in-small-town-New-England) in my town of Medway, Mass. There are some great examples of the style in town, ranging from humble to high style. Now let's take a look at the potential pitfalls of altering the original siding and... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/34968/restoring-the-original-look-of-your-historic-house) ## The Greek Revival Style in Small Town New England One of the things that I appreciate about historic houses is the thought that the builders put into the ornamentation. They seemed to have an almost innate understanding of the use of proportion and, of course, a deeper understanding of the... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/32253/the-greek-revival-in-small-town-new-england) ## Choosing Paint Colors for Historic Houses The selection of exterior paint colors for historic houses is, admittedly, a very subjective topic. Color schemes that please some people might give their neighbors nightmares. As subjective and personal issue as this topic is, however, it is clear to... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/31885/paint-color-do-s-and-dont-s-for-historic-houses) ## Benefits of Precast Foundations in New Construction While we're primarily known as historic renovation contractors, we've broken ground on a new timber frame house on a picturesque horse farm west of Boston. From time to time I'll be updating you on our progress. It should be a pretty interesting... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/33189/project-update-a-new-timber-frame-home-in-ma) ## 5 Reasons Not to Replace Historic Windows As an old house renovation contractor I am often approached by homeowners who want to replace their old windows. Sometimes this is the first item on their list when they buy an old house. They reason that the old, drafty windows are inefficient and hard... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/31882/5-reasons-not-to-buy-new-windows-for-your-historic-house) ## Design Guidelines for Historic Home Additions As a [renovation and restoration contractor here in Massachusetts](https://www.landmarkservices.com/), I have built a lot of [additions on to historic houses](https://www.landmarkservices.com/construction-services/additions-to-old-houses/). Contrary to the philosophy of some preservationists, who feel that new additions should read as new additions and not pretend to be... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/31802/additions-to-historic-houses-more-design-guidelines) ## Exterior Trim for Historic House Additions Last time we discussed how important it is to place the roofline correctly when adding on to an old house.  If the roofline is too high or set at the wrong pitch, the addition could look awkward or even overwhelm the original part of the house. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/27597/additions-to-old-houses-part-2-exterior-trim) ## Building a Seamless Addition for a Historic Home How many times have you seen a nice old house ruined by an unsightly addition? Some additions "read" as additions from a mile away. It doesn't have to be that way. With some careful planning, it is quite possible to design and build an addition that... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/27596/building-an-addition-on-a-historic-house-don-t-make-these-mistakes) ## Stone Veneer for Historic Additions When we build an addition on a historic house, we take pride in our ability to make the new space blend seamlessly with the old. One of the ways we do this is by avoiding the raw look of exposed concrete foundations. Instead, we typically place a veneer... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/25188/renovation-techniques-stone-veneer) ## Victorian Interior Renovation We recently completed major interior renovations to a ca. 1900 Victorian home just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Back in 1996 we added a kitchen/family room addition to the rear of this house and our clients decided that they finally wanted to tackle... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/24956/project-feature-victorian-renovation) ## Preventing Ice Dams Okay, I'll admit that ice dams are probably not on your mind much these days. With Red Sox playing well, and the Celts and Bruins in the playoffs, if you're doing anything around your house, it's likely out in the yard. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/24936/ice-dams-prepare-for-next-winter) ## New Foundation for Historic Brookline Mansard For another one of our projects, we are preparing to renovate and restore a ca. 1870 Mansard roofed house in Brookline. During some early site visits, we discovered that the house was spreading. Some floor joists were literally hanging on by a thread-... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/24913/they-didn-t-always-build-them-liked-they-used-to-part-deux) ## Rare Structural Issues in a Historic House While most of the historic houses that we've renovated and restored have been well built, once in a while we come across a house that makes you wonder how many houses had these guys built. Such is the case with a Federal era house that we're currently... [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/24912/they-didn-t-always-build-them-like-they-used-to) ## Remodeling an 1830s Basement: A Case Study (This is the first in what will be an ongoing series spotlighting some of our projects) [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/24911/case-study-basement-renovation-historic-house) ## Moving Historic Houses [Take It Away - New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/garden/01moving.html?_r=1&oref=slogin). Moving historic houses to save them is becoming a more common occurance around the country. Unfortunately, most developers place no value on these houses and they either get moved or torn down. [Read More](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/bid/24891/moving-old-houses-rolling-along) [Load More Posts](https://www.landmarkservices.com/blog/page/0) ## Let’s work together. Have a project on your mind? We would love to discuss it with you. Please reach out! [Send Us a Message](https://www.landmarkservices.com/contact-us) ### Landmark Services ### Recent Blog Posts 7 Oakland Street
 Medway, MA 02053 508.533.8393 office@landmarkservices.com